Sean Hannity puts 'spineless, gutless, timid' congressional Republicans on notice

Fox News host Sean Hannity berated what he described as "spineless, gutless, timid" Republicans for not supporting President Donald Trump enough in a blistering opening statement on his show Thursday evening.

After citing a list of the promises that Trump has kept, Hannity scolded congressional Republicans, saying that they were not keeping up with the president and they needed to start moving at the "speed of Trump."

"In other words," Hannity angrily said directly into the camera, "President Trump gets it. He wants to move quickly. He wants to get things done." He continued:

The question tonight is: "Where are the Republicans in Congress to help him?" I don't know about you but I have lived my entire life with a sense of urgency, and by the way, so does every single person that works on this television show and on my radio show. In all the years that I've been broadcasting, I've only taken a handful of lunches, who has time for lunch? And it's usually a meeting with my boss. Ninety-nine percent of the time I eat lunch at my desk, and by the way, so does everybody that works on this show, because nobody has time. We're so busy working because we want to put the best show possible on the air every night. That's our job.

"In the real world," Hannity said almost yelling, "you don't do your job and do it well, you're gonna get fired. So how is it possible that President Trump, he's accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, and his so-called Republican allies in Congress have done nothing?"

Hannity went on:

And what's worse is that now congressional Republicans are now saying that a bill to deal with Obamacare may not be ready until the end of the year. And they're also saying instead of repealing and replacing it, many of them are now saying, "Well, we'll repeal and repair the disastrous health care law."

You gotta be kidding me. Repair? For nearly eight years, Republicans have been saying they were gonna repeal and replace Obamacare, a solemn promise to you. And on top of making those promises, Republicans also repeatedly said that, if you the voters, if you give them the White House, the Senate, the House, they would abolish Obamacare, once and for all. Well guess what? You spineless, gutless, timid politicians, they have all three, they have the White House, the Senate, and the House. What's their excuse now?

Hannity then said that it's pretty "pathetic" that he can cite Trump's campaign policies better than the congressional Republicans. "You should have had a plan in place!" he angrily tells Republicans about a replacement for Obamacare.

He also scolded Republicans for "dragging their feet" on Trump's tax plan. "What the hell is taking you so long?" he exclaimed, "President Trump is ready to act on his promise," noting that Americans will benefit from more jobs the sooner that Trump's tax breaks are implemented.

"Now the concept is simple, but Republicans, why are you making things so difficult?" Hannity then addressed the Republicans directly, demanding action and making a vague threat.

Tonight, it's time to put a marker in the sand. I'm putting the GOP on notice. No more excuses, no more explanations, go to work, roll up your sleeves, and do your job! There's no excuse for not having a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare; there's no excuse for not having a tax cut plan; there's no excuse for not having a plan so that we become energy independent, or having a plan to reduce the size and influence of government. You have the House, you have the Senate, you have a president that wants to work, who's moving fast, which is everything you asked the American people for for years.

"Rome is burning and the country continues its precipitous decline," he intoned.

"My question is: 'Why can't you members of Congress keep up?'" Hannity concluded, "I've had it up to here! I've had it with all of you. All talk, no action politicians, as Donald Trump said during the campaign. If you can't do your job, guess what? Go back to wherever the hell you came from, because the American people are sick and tired of inaction. They voted for change, and they want to shake up Washington. Do your job, or go home."

Trump promised multiple times during his presidential campaign that he would repeal and replace Obamacare and made it the focus of his first executive action upon arriving at the Oval Office. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said that they had a moral obligation to replace Obamacare, but Trump admitted that Americans might have to wait until next year to see the promise fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has pushed on with his own replacement plan.