Rep. McCarthy: Russia and China are benefitting from a Biden presidency
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy argues President Biden is putting 'China first.'
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., argued on Saturday that "our adversaries," not the American people, are benefiting from President Biden's actions during his first week in office.
"Just look at the first week of this administration," McCarthy told "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on Saturday night. "It’s Russia, China, our adversaries who are benefiting, not the American people."
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McCarthy went on to say that Biden is putting "America last" and has "now put China first."
Biden signed a total of 17 executive orders within minutes of entering the Oval Office for the first time on Wednesday. The orders reversed a number of Trump administration policies and covered areas Biden identified as his priorities on the campaign trail, including the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.
The orders included halting the Keystone XL oil pipeline project and renewing the U.S. commitment to the Paris climate agreement, just three years after former President Donald Trump withdrew support.
McCarthy pointed out on Saturday that halting the Keystone XL oil pipeline project cut union jobs "and hurt our greatest ally within Canada."
He also noted that the Paris climate agreement "only benefits China."
"We've lowered more emissions than any country," he continued. "You could add up all Europe together."
McCarthy then said that Biden also went forward with a "movement of not making new American jobs."
"Remember what he said just less than a week ago about unity? None of those actions have taken place," McCarthy stressed, referencing Biden’s message during his inaugural address. McCarthy added that currently "there’s no unity."
He went on to say that "what would unify this nation is exactly what we are working on, the Republicans, in Congress," which he said is getting Americans back to work.
"Not 11 million new illegal immigrants having citizenship," McCarthy continued. "What about those 10.7 million Americans who need a job?" he added, referencing the number of Americans who are unemployed.
In April, U.S. employers cut 20.5 million jobs, a record-shattering number that pushed unemployment to 14.7%, the highest level since the Great Depression, as the coronavirus pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic catastrophe.
The U.S. has recovered roughly half of the 22 million jobs lost during the first two months of the pandemic. There are still about 9.8 million more Americans out of work than there were in February before the crisis began.
In December, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report, released earlier this month.
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McCarthy also referenced the Biden administration’s move on Wednesday to issue a 100-day "pause" on deportations of illegal immigrants.
The "pause" on deportations, which means many illegal immigrants with criminal convictions and charges will not be deported in that timeframe, caps a slew of immigration moves by the new president, reversing many of the policies of former President Trump.
Earlier Wednesday, Biden signed an executive order that halted the construction of the wall at the southern border while the administration studies whether it can redirect money that has been assigned to additional wall mileage. The slew of immigration moves has led to the expectation that thousands of migrants will reach the U.S.-Mexico border in the early weeks of the Biden administration.
"This is only going to expand," McCarthy warned.
"What the last administration was able to do was stop it [illegal immigration] and get Mexico to do something they’ve never done before, to not let them even through their country," he continued.
"Now they believe this new president is welcoming it and that’s exactly what he’s doing--stopping the wall, telling them to come because he’s going to provide them citizenship instead of providing the jobs to those more than 10 million Americans who are out of work."
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A spokesperson with the Biden administration did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment regarding McCarthy’s statements.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw, Yael Halon and Thomas Barrabi as well as FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
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