Sen. Bernie Moreno criticized Democratic lawmakers over what he described as misplaced priorities on taxpayer spending and trade policy, arguing that government resources should remain focused on American citizens.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Moreno pointed to the length of tenure of one of his colleagues as part of his broader critique of Washington’s culture.
“My colleague has been here for 30 years,” Moreno said.
“When you’ve been here for 30 years in Washington, DC, you think it’s perfectly normal for government to provide aid to those in need and then have those people send that money overseas to them. That’s normal.”
Moreno contrasted that view with what he described as the Republican position on tariffs and domestic job protection. Addressing comments from a colleague from Oregon about jobs being shipped overseas, Moreno said the issue has long been central to Republican policy.
“And in terms of your comment to my colleague from Oregon that we are shipping jobs overseas or incentivizing companies to send jobs overseas,” Moreno said.
“Welcome to the Republican Party’s position on tariffs.”
He added that he was encouraged to see at least one Democrat expressing openness to tariff policies aimed at protecting American industry.
“I’m happy to see finally that we have a Democrat who is willing to embrace tariffs because we’re sick and tired of seeing our jobs shipped overseas,” Moreno said.
Moreno then shifted to the issue of taxpayer dollars and federal spending, expressing frustration that bipartisan agreement could not be reached on what he described as a basic principle.
“So I’m disappointed that we couldn’t agree on a basic premise that US taxpayer dollars intended to help our citizens stay within our shores,” Moreno said.
He referenced a moment during President Donald Trump’s recent address in which lawmakers were asked to affirm a core duty of elected officials.
“Should highlight why,” Moreno continued.
“Yesterday, the Democrat members of both houses could not stand up when President Trump asked a simple question, is it the first duty of an elected official to defend and protect American citizens?”
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Moreno framed the exchange as evidence of what he sees as a broader divide between Republicans and Democrats over priorities in government spending and national policy.
His remarks tied together concerns over foreign aid, the movement of jobs overseas, and the responsibility of elected officials to prioritize American citizens.
The comments come amid ongoing debates in Congress over trade policy, border security, and the allocation of federal funds.
Moreno aligned himself with President Trump’s position that protecting American citizens should be the primary responsibility of those in public office, while criticizing Democratic lawmakers for failing to demonstrate agreement with that principle during the President’s address.