EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Cory Mills Says Government Funding Bill Supported by More Democrats than Republicans was Betrayal of Single-Point Appropriations Promise, Result of “Deal Struck with Hakeem Jeffries” (VIDEO)

Congressman Cory Mills (R-FL) spoke to The Gateway after last night’s House vote on a government funding measure, which passed with 196 Democrats and 170 Republicans voting in favor. 

The only dissenting votes came from 34 Republicans, some of whom are Trump allies. Mills, a staunch Trump supporter and ally, was one of those 34 Republicans.

Oddly, Democrats raised the same objections as they did to Wednesday’s failed government funding bill. Purple-haired Democrat Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro gave almost the exact same speech from Thursday in opposition on Friday, claiming that Republicans were trying to shut the government down at the behest of “President Musk.” Still, DeLauro and several other far-left members who expressed opposition to the bill, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, voted in favor.

While many on the right are celebrating this legislation as a win for conservatives and President Trump, maybe we should be asking why almost most of the bill’s votes in favor came from Democrats and the only votes in opposition were from Republicans.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, the bill was apparently a last-minute agreement between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrat leaders late Friday. Earlier in the day, Republican leaders were advancing a new strategy involving three separate bills. “It was approved said Mills.” However, Johnson ultimately caved to Democrats’ demands in a back-room deal with Hakeem Jeffries for an “all-in-one” bill.

MIKE JOHNSON CAVED AGAIN: Breaks Promise on Split Spending Bills, Excludes Trump’s Demand for a Debt Ceiling Increase in Backroom Deal with Democrats to Avoid Shutdown

Elon Musk expressed confusion in response to Johnson's deal with the Democrats before the vote, asking, "So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?"

So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill? https://t.co/C54cbLGoGR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024

Notably, the debt ceiling was also not increased, something opposed by Republicans and Democrats, but requested by President Trump.

Mills told The Gateway Pundit he's "not seeing" how the bill helps President Trump's agenda. Instead, it "gives Joe Biden 30 more days to use that money to fund whatever he wants to include weaponizing it in any way that he wants at the DOJ."

Watch the full interview below:

Mills: I voted no on the funding bill. I think that what we should be doing is looking at funding the bare necessities for the next 30 days to get President Trump in office and then looking at what he needs to achieve his agenda.

I think that people have to bear in mind that approving additional spending gives Joe Biden 30 more days to use that money to fund whatever he wants to include weaponizing it in any way that he wants at the DOJ.

So, we need to be smart about how we're doing it, but also, this really hurts our Department of Defense. When you've got China who's advancing in hypersonic ballistic missile capabilities, when you've got this axis of evil with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, us not having new programs of record, which continuing resolutions prevent, means that we fall further and further behind on this advanced technology that we need to be able to defend INDOPACOM, as well as for future operations that may impact America.

So, I think that we're also at $36 trillion in deficit. It's the first time in history America is going to spend more in servicing our interest payments than we do our entire national defense spending.

We have to get fiscal sanity here. And here's the other thing. In the 1/18 Congress, we fought hard to return germaneness to bills and regular order for single-point appropriations.

We're now doing these cramnibus—these omnibus, minibus, CR, short bus, whatever they're labeling them now—and we're going against the very thing that we fought for in the 118 Congress, which is to have single-point appropriation bills that address individual issues. Disaster relief and FEMA, one issue Farmers and agricultural sector, one issue.

Additional continuing funds for our government at a minimal level to keep it thriving, one issue. These are things that shouldn't be lumped together.

And if it is so easy for us to throw anything into a bill, let's throw term limits in there. Let's start making a modification to where we ban stock trading for members of Congress and their spouses.

They're so quick to put in things like exemptions so that members of Congress don't have to sign up for Obamacare, but you, the American people, do. But they're going to call themselves representatives.

They're going to ask for cost of living adjustments to increase when Congress makes $174,900; that's more than 90% of Americans make.

And this inflationary spending is costing Americans out of affording the cost of living, out of housing ownership, so if it's so easy to cram things in there, why don't we cram things in there that levels the playing field, eliminates conflicts of interest and prioritizes the American people?

Conradson: Wasn't that stuff like Obamacare, the pay raise, stuff like what you were just talking about, wasn't that cut out of this spending bill?

Mills: It was cut out of this spending bill because they wanted to make an additional deal with Hakeem Jeffries, as opposed to working our own conference.

But it still doesn't address spending issues. It doesn't address the fact that you're gonna have this cycle, okay?

You increase debt limits, which then leads to a continue to print more dollars, which leads to inflationary spending, which means everything goes up, which leads to consumer suppression, which means that businesses don't do as well, which means we do what?

We continue to print new dollars to continue to perpetuate the cycle, and we can't keep doing that.

We have to think about economic growth, supply chain capabilities, utilizing things like CFIUS as an executive order to block the sale of US Steel, the one that's being sold to Nippon Japan for $14 billion, our last steel industry in America.

We have to start getting back to prioritizing America, Americans, and American interests.

Conradson: I want to go back to what you were saying about individual bills for each topic. You know, that was something that was discussed today, something that was rumored today that was going to come out, approved, actually, yeah. What happened? Why did it just get lumped in this one big bill?

Mills: Because there was a deal struck with Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats to get them to come on board.

Conradson: So is that Mike Johnson?

Mills: It was weakness in leadership.

Conradson: One of the things I found most interesting here is that mostly Democrats voted for this bill. Why do you think that is?

Mills: Well, again, I mean, Hakeem Jeffries got what he wanted. And I'm sure there's a lot of backroom deals that was made for different positions on different committees and future bills that'll be guaranteed to be brought to the floor.

And you know, it's one of those things where it's drug deals in DC as usual. That's not what I'm about. I'm the only member of Congress who donates my salary to a woman, child, or veteran charity in my district or other areas. This isn't about making money. It is mutually exclusive. You can't have public service and personal enrichment.

This has to be about the American people. That's what our Founding Fathers intended it to be. And I can tell you that what we're doing right here is not about serving the American people. It's about continuing to have DCs growth, greed, and feeding it with American taxpayer dollars. And that's not what I'm about. I'm a 10th amendment absolutist.

You want to fix this, abolish the 17th amendment, return things back to the states and individual rights, and because those powers will return to the states, you won't have a need to have as much. DC bureaus, departments, and agencies, you will reduce the size of government here in DC, which is reducing the size of spending, and now we can start getting fiscal sanity and responsibility.

Conradson: In your opinion, is this spending bill actually going to help President Trump's agenda?

Mills: I'm not seeing how it does at this moment. I mean, does it give us a little bit of a runway when the President comes in? Sure. But it also gives Joe Biden 30 days of runway as well. I would have funded the bare minimum essentials.

I would have had disaster relief and agriculture as a separate bill in itself. And then, when the president gets elected and inaugurated in, we would then get him the necessary funding that he needs to feed his agenda, not continue to feed what Joe Biden's had for four years, which has destroyed the nation.

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