Biden calls Republicans 'socialists' who opposed $1.2T infrastructure law and then applied for its funding
Some Republicans had previously referred to Biden's massive infrastructure spending bill as a form of socialism
Biden tours Volvo Group powertrain plant in Maryland
Biden tours Volvo Group powertrain plant in Maryland.
President Biden on Friday called several Republicans "socialists" after a report revealed they applied for funding contained in the president's signature $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, after voting against the legislation in the House.
Biden said during a Friday speech in Hagerstown, Maryland, on the state of the economy that he "was surprised to see so many socialists in the Republican caucus" after he read a report detailing Republican applications for infrastructure funds.
It noted that several Republicans in Congress referred to the infrastructure bill as a form of socialism, then asked the Department of Transportation to utilize these infrastructure funds in their districts.
"I didn't know there were that many socialist Republicans," Biden said in response to the report by CNN.
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President Biden on Friday called several Republicans "socialists" in response to a story that they applied to receive infrastructure funds for their states out of a law they had voted against. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The president specifically named Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky.; and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Biden mentioned portions of the letters sent by Republicans to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that praised the necessity of infrastructure projects.
"He says it enhanced the quality of life, it eased congestion, boosts the economy," Biden said of Gosar. "He voted against it, says it's all socialism."
The president specifically named Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Other Republican lawmakers who voted against the infrastructure bill also wrote letters to Buttigieg. Several of these Republican offices reportedly said the infrastructure bill was largely wasteful spending, but that there were small portions of beneficial funds that are needed in their districts.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg testifies before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure during a hearing on "Implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 19, 2 (REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger / Reuters Photos)
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Alex Bellizzi, the communications director for Barr, said Biden's agenda is right in line with socialist ideology.
"America’s Socialist in Chief shouldn’t be calling anyone else a Socialist," Bellizzi told Fox News Digital on Friday. "Biden’s Socialist agenda is bankrupting our country and we are paying for it at the grocery store, gas pump, and in our 401ks."
Gosar tweeted that he has a consistent record of supporting infrastructure from Democrat and Republican presidents.
"I wear Biden's attacks on me (when he can say them coherently) as a badge of honor," Gosar wrote. "On some bills I vote no, not because of the infrastructure, but because Pelosi and the radical left includes crap like climate change and other nonsense. But I'm all in on infrastructure."