- The Washington Times - Monday, February 12, 2018

Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Monday he’s not surprised by the actions of some in the conservative caucus regarding the recent spending bill, but is concerned the Republican Party is moving away from fiscal responsibility.

“Yeah, of course it’s a worry,” the Illinois Republican said on CNN. “And look, [GOP Rep.] Jim Jordan never misses an opportunity to slam somebody in his own party. In fact, I see him do that more often than he does anybody else. So Jim Jordan’s comments kind of don’t surprise me.”

Mr. Jordan of Ohio said Sunday that the bill was “not consistent” with what the American people wanted from their lawmakers. He said Republicans “gave in” to Democrats on the bill.

Mr. Kinzinger said that the addition to the deficit — estimated at just over $1 trillion by 2019 — was a concern, but said the bill did more good than harm. He was among the majority of the House Republicans who voted for the latest budget deal.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deal includes $320 billion in deficit spending. House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed the deal through, saying much of that was due to mandatory spending on entitlements and not the additional earmarks in the bill, including a big boost in spending for the military.

“What we did in this budget is we fixed the military,” Mr. Kinzinger said.

• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.

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