Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL), who has indicated that he’s open to impeaching President Donald Trump, expressed serious concern over the state of his party on Sunday.
“You’re a proud longtime Republican,” CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper told Rooney. “Are you concerned about your party right now?”
“Very concerned, Jake,” the Republican lawmaker responded. “We are self-sorting for a declining demographic, a narrowing demographic of elderly people, rural people.”
Rooney said the GOP needs to “get back to being the party of pro-economics, pro-capitalism and reduced spending,” not “all this kind of populism stuff.”
When Tapper asked if Rooney planned on leaving the party, the lawmaker responded, “I don’t know.”
“I am a Republican,” he continued. “I believe we have the better argument in the area of economic and business regulation. But I don’t think we have the better argument on gun violence and on the environment.”
Rooney lamented how how “the system we have now” is “so oriented towards reelection, raising money.”
“And it creates a bias against action,” he added. “Everybody is quaking in fear of being criticized by the President or something.”
Rooney announced on Saturday that he will not be running for reelection in 2020.
Watch Rooney’s interview on CNN online.
