Veteran Rep. Tom Cole on how the House GOP fell into chaos.
Speaker Mike Johnson is on the verge of his biggest legislative victory yet — and it might mean his undoing.
In press shorthand, Cole is usually described as an institutionalist, and since the tea party era, he’s also been known for butting heads with his more rambunctious, often newer colleagues on the far right. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity with help from Deep Dive producer Kara Tabor and senior producer Alex Keeney.
One of the consequences of that process-wise, rules-wise, was that the Rules Committee, which you chaired until very recently, was stacked with some of the more “exotic” members who don’t always do the will of leadership. It used to be known as “the Speaker’s Committee” and that hasn’t always been the case in this Congress.
Is there a moment when the tradition of members of the majority not voting against a rule, when the dam broke and you saw that this is going to be a thing going forward? Again, I think Jim Jordan has been a very effective chair of Judiciary. If you don’t think he has some bipartisan skills, he’s up there with Nadler arguing for their version of FISA. When he’s been given responsible positions first on Oversight and Judiciary, I would argue he’s occupied them responsibly and he’s played within the rules.
People have gone to jail. I think that’s a pretty good indication that there needed to be some guardrails put on. So it’s how you use the tool. I think we’ve set up some really good guidelines, Democrats and Republicans alike. I think because we went a decade without them, people are being very careful about minding their Ps & Qs, and we’ve put more transparency on it.what you’re reading
But I thought the book showed both the benefits and limitations of what government can do in answering a very challenging question. And Jeff wondered, how do you react to Trump’s threat to assume dictatorial powers, even for a day, if he gets elected? But there are also really strong checks and balances. And there’s also a very strong tradition in American history of federalism. Again, I am not as worried as his political opponents are. Now, I think what people do worry about with Trump is, I will tell you this, having dealt with him over a term, not directly. I’m not one of these guys that gets on the phone every day to try to call the president to tell him what to do. One of my rules in politics is never give unsolicited advice.
We have a tradition on this show where the last question I ask is actually something proposed by our previous guest. This question comes from Michael Cohen.Yes. That Michael Cohen. And then once you answer this, you can come up with a question for our next guest, and you don’t know who it’s going to be.
I thought at the time that if he committed a crime, the appropriate thing was to charge him with a crime and proceed that way in the courts. That wasn’t done for a long time. And so, again, without casting aspersions on anybody, there’s enough out there to ask, “Why did you wait so long? Was it because you thought he was politically dead in that time frame? But now you see, he’s not and so we’re going to use the Justice Department.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Despite slight jump in February, veteran unemployment is lower than non-veteran unemploymentA veterans job fair is being held Thursday at the Jacksonville Jaguars' EverBank Stadium.
Read more »
US Audi EV Sales Grow 29%, BMW EV Sales Grow 63%Clean Tech News & Views: EVs, Solar Energy, Batteries
Read more »
'A special, special veteran' | WWII veteran dies at age 103, but leaves behind a big legacyFamily members say Harvey Gann was drafted into the Army Air Corps in 1942 to fight in World War II. He was a German prisoner of war three times.
Read more »
Daughter of this blue bastion's last Republican senator shatters state Republican fundraising recordNella Domenici, the daughter of New Mexico’s last Republican senator, has set a new fundraising record for a GOP Senate candidate in the blue-leaning southwestern state.
Read more »
Chris Sununu Tries and Fails to Defend His Trump Flipflop in ABC Interview“Nobody should be shocked that the Republican governor is supporting the Republican president,” Sununu blustered.
Read more »
Tired of inflated ticket prices, Yungblud is launching his own affordable music festivalYungblud is hoping to shake up the world of overpriced music festivals by setting a good example.
Read more »