NEW ORLEANS - During a speech Thursday at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came down hard on Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), calling him an “egocentric centralized figure of political power beyond the reach of normal humility.”
Gingrich was criticizing Waxman on his decision to call several companies before a congressional hearing because they reported the new health care law will have a devastating effect on their finances. AT&T, for example, says it will cost the company $1 billion. Gingrich joins several congressional Republicans in criticizing this decision.
This is not the first time Waxman and Gingrich have clashed – they butted heads last year on a congressional hearing regarding climate change, and one 1998 CNN headline from Gingrich’s days as Speaker of the House reads, “Gingrich, Waxman Clash Over Finance Hearings.”
