For immediate release: July 21, 2023

Contact: [1] [email protected]
Cole talks about the Mission of the Rules Committee and the Guidance He Received from the Speaker When He Took the Job

“McCarthy wanted the process to be open."

WASHINGTON, DC – In remarks yesterday morning before a breakfast meeting of The Ripon Society, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) talked about his role as Chairman of the House Rules Committee and the guidance he received from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (CA-20) when he took the job.

“This Rules Committee has a different mission,” the Oklahoma lawmaker said, explaining how the panel in the 118th Congress differs from Rules panels in the past. “Its mission is we will live by the rules. Thomas Massie probably exemplifies this more than anybody -- and I mean that as a high compliment. He makes sure we live by the rules. We have a 72-hour rule to vote on legislation. We do not skimp and drop it at midnight and vote on it in a few hours or the next day. We do not suspend the amount of time.

“The last Congress -- which was Democratic -- had 14 occasions where they did not live by the time limit that the average member is supposed to have to actually look at a piece of legislation and come to an opinion. We have not done that once. We have not invoked what's called Same Day Authority. We have never brought things directly to the Rules Committee that have not been vetted through a committee. So, it is a pretty strict regimen up there. And Thomas takes that on, I think, in the appropriate way as one of his responsibilities.”

Cole was first elected to the House in 2002. He served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2006 to 2008, and is viewed as one of the top political and legislative strategists in today’s GOP. In his remarks yesterday morning, he talked about his election as Rules Committee Chairman last fall, and the conversation he had with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy regarding McCarthy’s view of the Rules Committee and how he wanted Cole to approach the job.

“The Rules Committee we have is exactly the Rules Committee that Kevin McCarthy wanted to create,” Cole stated. “And he had a very different vision than other Speakers. I have been privileged to work with them, all of whom I liked. I mean, I liked Hastert. I certainly liked John Boehner and Paul Ryan. But again, they had a very traditional vision of what the Rules Committee would be. Kevin's deal was that he wanted everybody represented … We have two Freedom Caucus members out of our nine voters. And Thomas Massie -- who is not a Freedom Caucus member -- is probably one of the more independent members. He is really a true libertarian member in the best sense of the word. So, again, it is very different. McCarthy wanted the process to be open.”

“In the past, we would rush things to the Floor sometimes and then run into a problem. Now, if you have a problem, you know about it early, because it's going to pop up in the Committee. If somebody has an objection or a concern, it is easier to settle in the Committee than on the Floor. It is a live round, so to speak -- you are going to have a vote up or down, and people are trying to round up votes at the last minute. That does not really happen very much. Again, if it is going to blow up, it tends to blow up in Committee. That is true for all the committees, but it is especially true for Rules.

“We are a much more real reflection of what the [House Republican] Conference is today. And that is what he wanted. He also wanted leadership to be more accessible. And I can tell you -- having served with multiple speakers -- this is the most accessible Speaker I have ever seen. It is easy to go talk to him. It is easy to get an appointment where he has the energy to handle this many egos, this many groups, and a narrow majority in the Conference. But he does. I think it's a work in progress, every single day. But at the end of the day so far, it's worked.”

Which is why, Cole added, he always tells people: “I think Kevin McCarthy's the most underestimated politician in Washington, DC.”

To view Cole’s complete remarks at yesterday’s breakfast discussion, please click the link below:

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The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

For more information on The Ripon Society, please visit [2] www.riponsociety.org.

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