South Carolina Republican Representative Ralph Norman faced widespread mockery after appearing on Fox News and complaining about not having enough time to read the 99-page bill negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that aims for a a bipartisan agreement to raise the national debt ceiling and avert a historic default.
During his appearance on Fox News, Ralph Norman grumbled about the lack of time to read the 99-page debt deal bill. He also complained about it being sent out for review during the Memorial Day weekend.
However, Fox anchor John Roberts pointed out that Norman had 72 hours to review the bill before the vote, emphasizing that it was only 99 pages long.
You can hear watch their exchange in the video below.
Shortly afterward, California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu led the mockery on Twitter, highlighting the feasibility of reading the bill within the given timeframe.
Lieu calculated that if Norman "worked 8 hours" a day, he would have had "24 hours over 3 days to read 99 pages," averaging "a little over 4 pages every hour." Lieu even suggested that Norman could have utilized artificial intelligence to "summarize the bill" in just one minute. The widespread ridicule on social media pointed out the irony of Norman's complaints.
Lieu also noted that the bill's pages are "double spaced text."
You can see his tweet below.
Despite his claims of not having enough time to read the bill, Norman had managed to review it over the weekend.
He took to Twitter to criticize the bill, calling it "insanity" and expressing his refusal to vote for it. Norman objected to the $4 trillion debt ceiling increase without significant spending cuts, stating that he would not support measures that would potentially "bankrupt our country."
You can see his tweet below.
Given the math lesson Lieu gave him, many were quick to criticize Norman for his complaints.
Earlier, the bill to raise the debt ceiling passed a key procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives, setting the stage for a vote on the bipartisan debt deal itself.
The House ultimately passed the bill 314-117.
The legislation aims to suspend the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, providing more time to address the issue after the 2024 presidential election.
It includes spending caps, expedited energy project permitting, the retrieval of unused COVID-19 funds, and expanded work requirements for food aid programs. The bill's success hinges on garnering support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Now that the bill has cleared the House, it will go to the Senate, where it runs the risk of delay but has nonetheless received the support of both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who could agree to fast-track the legislation to avert default.
