Malliotakis: 'Half an hour to debate a 600-page bill that spends $1.9 trillion of taxpayer money'

New York GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said Wednesday she was "shocked" to learn that House had only one hour to debate the nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill before its vote last week on the massive economic stimulus package.

"I was shocked to learn that our entire conference was only given a half an hour to debate a 600-page bill that spends $1.9 trillion of the taxpayer money," Malliotakis told "Just The News AM."

The first-term congresswoman said that the entire 435-member chamber was only given one hour to debate on Feb. 27 before passage — with half of the time going to Democrats and the other half going to Republicans.

The Senate passed its version Sunday, and the House is expected Wednesday to pass the final congressional version, which will go to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. 

"There is no transparency, and we have to have these votes take place at two o'clock in the morning, when the media is gone, when the people are sleeping across the country, I think it's a bad thing," Malliotakis told show host Sophie Mann. "And I believe democracy dies in darkness. And that's exactly what we saw happen with this process of this COVID-19 relief package."

She also said she was shocked to see the partisan divide in Congress when it came to voting on legislation, claiming the Democrats voted "all lockstep" against one of her bills asking Congress to denounce movements to dismantle and defund police department across the country. 

Malliotakis also said she was surprised at how Democrats used a procedural maneuver to get the Senate version of the COVID relief measure passed by a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote supermajority required for most legislation.

Democrats "changed the rules ... so they can put it through without any Republican votes," she said.