Pelosi criticizes GOP members for voting against $1.5T spending bill with pork for their districts

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office attacked House Republicans who voted against the $1.5 trillion federal spending bill that included earmarks or "pork barrel spending" that benefitted their congressional districts.

There were 171 Republicans out of 210 who voted against it.

"Several of these GOP Members are now celebrating critical funding for local projects in their districts despite voting against them," Pelosi's office said in a statement.

Pelosi's press release specifically named House GOP Chair Elise Stefanik as a member who voted against the bill even though her district benefited from earmarks inside the legislation.

Pelosi's office said Stefanik took "credit for more than ten projects in her district that had been included in the legislation – what she described as 'key wins for Upstate New York in the North Country' – despite voting no on the bill."

In a press release after the bill passed, Stefanik said she did not support the House Democrats' efforts to "double down on their broken agenda with more reckless government spending."

"While I am proud to have worked to include several wins for Upstate New York and the North Country in this year’s appropriations package, Speaker Pelosi’s bill – drafted in the dead of night and behind closed doors – contains Far-Left, partisan provisions that I could not support and fails to address the ongoing energy crisis and would fail to halt historic, skyrocketing inflation at a time when Upstate New York and North Country families are struggling," she said in a statement.

According to Pelosi's office, Alabama Rep. Bob Aderholt "did not mention in his press release" that he voted against the bill but he touted the funding for two community projects in his district that was included in the final bill that passed.

The press release from Pelosi's office also criticized New York Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs for taking credit for seven community projects “supporting rural communities in NY-27 and ensuring they have every resource to prosper now, and generations into the future" after voting against the bill because he didn’t want to "grow domestic spending."

House Democrats were tied to many of the 4,000 earmarks in the legislation that was passed. 

According to a list compiled by Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun's office, there was a $496,000 earmark requested by New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman for "Promoting Health Equity and Affordable Swim Access through Yonkers YMCA Pool Improvements."

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media about millions of dollars in the bill going toward community projects in her district, including housing access and workforce development programs. "Rep. AOC just won millions for community projects in NY-14," read the title of her post.

Among the projects on the list, there were 142 earmarks linked to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.