GOP rep, asked about ‘affordability,’ says he will eat lobster tail, rib-eye steak for July 4

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Despite a sizeable number of Americans expressing financial concerns, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) boasted Tuesday of his plans to eat lobster tails and rib-eye steak this Fourth of July weekend.

“Affordability — what are you talking about?” Nehls told reporter Pablo Manríquez on the Capitol steps, when the latter asked him how House Republicans can convince their constituents they are fighting to make life more affordable.

“Over the fourth, I’m going to get me a couple of big lobster tails, I’m going to get me some nice rib-eyes. I’m going to sit in my backyard with my family [and] my neighbors, and we’re going to be enjoying the fourth, celebrating 250 years, the birthday [of America],” the Texas Republican added.

Nehls, who is not seeking reelection, also noted he will be “celebrating the greatest president of my lifetime,” referring to President Trump.

When another reporter asked him whether Americans living “paycheck to paycheck” can afford to eat the same food he plans to, Nehls wondered if those people “work as hard as I do.”

Financial issues remain top of mind for Americans, particularly after energy prices spiked in the early months of the war with Iran.

A CNN/SSRS survey conducted from April 30 to May 4 found 61 percent of respondents changed the groceries they bought to stay within their budget because of recent economic conditions, while 3 in 10 said they took on credit card debt to afford necessities.

The annual change in the consumer price index, a popular measure of inflation, was 4.2 percent in May, up from 2.4 percent in February and marking the statistic’s highest mark in more than three years.

Higher gas prices, spurred by the Iran conflict, are adding to Americans’ economic anxieties. Two-thirds of respondents to a Gallup poll from earlier this month said the cost of fuel has caused their household financial hardship.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas dropped from more than $4.50 in late May to less than $3.85 on Wednesday, but the costs still remain higher than their mark of less than $3.18 a year ago, according to AAA.

But Nehls on Tuesday echoed rhetoric from Trump and other Republicans in arguing price hikes from the war were “temporary” costs necessitated by the need to “make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon.”

He added, “I’m OK with … the increase in fuel, because you know it was going to happen,” later noting the Iranian military’s restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which sparked the increase in energy prices.

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AAA

affordability

Donald Trump

House GOP

inflation

Iran war

July 4 weekend

Troy Nehls

U.S. economy

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