GOP Rep. Pushes Back as Fox Hosts Slam Bipartisan Bill: 'America Needs It'

Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, pushed back against Fox News hosts' criticisms toward the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill during a recent appearance on Mornings with Maria.

Democrats and Republicans came together last year to support the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which allocated billions of dollars toward repairing roads and bridges, investments into public transit, the expansion of high-speed internet and the elimination of lead pipes throughout the United States. Although the bill was met with some GOP pushback, it was seen as one of President Joe Biden's key achievements during his first year in office.

Bacon, seen as a leading Republican centrist, was one of 13 members of the House GOP to vote in favor of the bill, which was later signed into law by Biden.

More than a year after the bill passed, Bacon sparred over it with Fox News hosts Dagen McDowell and Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday during a discussion about bipartisanship, in which Bacon said Biden will have to work with Republicans to pass legislation after they retook a majority of seats in the House of Representatives during this year's midterm elections.

McDowell pressed the GOP lawmaker about his vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which she said was "fueling inflation."

"How are you not part of the problem, instead of being the solution?" McDowell asked.

Bacon responded that he believes the Republican Party should embrace infrastructure policy. Bartiromo, however, asked him about how much of the bill would actually be going to infrastructure. Former President Donald Trump has claimed only 11 percent of the funding goes toward "real infrastructure," but this claim was inaccurate.

The bipartisan bill largely funds "hard" infrastructure, but Democrats also pushed a separate bill that would have expanded social spending and failed to reach enough votes to pass the Senate.

"Ninety-five percent is going to infrastructure," Bacon responded. "And by the way, 84 percent of it was paid for by cuts in other areas, so I disagree with your analysis on that. The infrastructure bill was needed. America spends 2 percent of its GDP on infrastructure. Canada spends 4 percent. Europe spends 5 percent."

The GOP lawmaker added that the U.S. needed the bill to "compete with trade and commerce," and that Trump supported similar legislation during his tenure as president.

"Republicans should not vacate its leadership on infrastructure," Bacon said, adding he would defend it because "America needs it" in order to compete in the global economy.

In a tweet on Saturday, Bacon wrote that he "appreciated having the opportunity to correct misinformation concerning the Hard Infrastructure Bill."

Newsweek reached out to Fox News for comment.