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One House Republican appeared to suggest that the tens of millions of kids on free and reduced school lunch programs are moochers who should have to work to earn food.

During a Tuesday interview on CNN, host Pamela Brown interviewed Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Pa.) about President Donald Trump's new announcement that he was imposing a 90-day pause on all disbursements of federal money until agencies could ensure spending is line with Trump's agenda. The vaguely worded funding freeze — which is expected to begin at 5 PM Eastern Time and is already being challenged in court — could impact everything from Medicaid funding to food stamps and possibly even federal funding for school lunches.

McCormick — who joined Brown from Trump's Doral resort in Florida where House Republicans are having a retreat — defended Trump's decision, and suggested that kids at risk of losing their school lunch benefits could instead learn the "value" of hard work.

"You talk about school lunches? Hey, I worked my way through high school. I don't know about you, but I've worked since I was 13 years old, picking berries in a field before we had child labor laws that precluded that," said McCormick, who is 56 years old and was born well after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced child labor laws in 1938. "You're telling me that kids who stay at home, instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonalds during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review."

Brown pushed back, saying his remarks were "not necessarily a fair assessment" of the roughly 30 million kids who depend free or reduced lunches in school. McCormick argued that he was "absolutely not" agreeing with Brown's characterization of his statement as saying poor kids are "just sitting at home and not working." However, he argued that the funding freeze gives agencies a chance to see how federal money was being spent.

"Who can actually go and actually produce their income?" McCormick countered. "I mean how many people got their start in fast food restaurants when they were kids, versus just a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that makes them have value? Thinking about their future instead of thinking about how they're going to sponge off of the government when they don't need to?"

The Georgia Republican's remarks drew strong rebuke from journalists, commentators and various experts on social media. Texas Democratic Party executive committee member Micah Erfan tweeted that Republicans wanted "tax cuts for the rich paid for by eliminating school lunches for the poor." Council on Foreign Relations member Laurie Garrett responded by posting an excerpt of Charles Dickens' "The Christmas Carol" in which Ebenezer Scrooge says he hopes the needy will die in order to "decrease the surplus population." TV producer Brittany Valenzuela quote-tweeted the clip of McCormick and wrote: "If you’re arguing against providing free FOOD FOR OUR YOUTH, you need to seek help."

"What a p—k," tennis legend Martina Navratilova tweeted. "What about 10 year olds??? They are supposed to WORK FOR THEIR LUNCH!!!!?????"

Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis responded to McCormick by asserting the "Republican plan" was to "send your kindergarten[er] to afford breakfast and lunch at school." Globe and Mail editorial writer Peter Scowen called the Georgia Republican's comments part of "the new American war on empathy."

"Children are lazy and should start picking berries to pay for their school lunches is a take," author Shannon Watts tweeted.

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Republicans are already revealing their eagerness to cut earned benefits for millions of Americans, if one House Republican is to be believed.

In a recent interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.) said that he aims to convince his fellow lawmakers that "hard decisions" need to be made about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid if his party is to succeed in its goal of making sweeping budget cuts.

"75 percent of the budget is nondiscretionary," McCormick said, referencing the three programs that provide income and health insurance to retirees, low-income Americans and the disabled. "There’s hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved and we know how to do it. We just have to have the stomach to actually take those challenges on."

New Republic writer Hafiz Rashid highlighted McCormick's interview to make the point that Republicans are "chomping at the bit at some of their favorite targets" in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's victory. And he noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has also mentioned the possibility of making cuts to those three programs in order to fatten the Pentagon budget, along with "the infamous conservative manifesto Project 2025."

"While McCormick pledges to talk to the Democrats about such cuts, the GOP is unlikely to get much traction with the opposing party, especially since Republicans will have a razor-thin majority in the House where a single vote or two could tank their legislative agenda.," Rashid wrote. "Even if the GOP manages to win over a couple of Democrats, any plans to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid will get pushback from powerful organizations such as the AARP. Older voters who rely on the programs also make up the base of the Republican Party, and politicians from both parties should be wary of provoking them."

Notably, McCormick didn't mention one of his party's more costly goals: Extending Trump's 2017 tax cut package that overwhelmingly benefited corporations and the rich. Politico estimated that an extension would require roughly $4.6 trillion over 10 years, which even some Republicans were worried about.

Watch the video of McCormick's comments below, or by**clicking this link.**

READ MORE:['Biggest challenge': Even Republicans are nervous about Trump's new $4.6 trillion tax cut

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