Congressional Republicans want Congress to codify a series of President Donald Trump’s executive orders into law before the November elections, although there are a series of questions about the feasibility and how many reconciliation packages are feasible.
The Washington Reporter interviewed thirteen House Republicans and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) at the latest New Media Row hosted by the Rep. August Pfluger-led (R., Texas) Republican Study Committee (RSC).
For both Reps. Mike Haridopolos (R., Fla.) and Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas), the answer was simple: “yes,” they both told the Reporter, they want Congress to codify more Trump executive orders.
Schmitt told the Reporter that when it comes to reconciliation, “we are going to have this shot with this reconciliation to do immigration to make sure ICE and Border Patrol are funded; then we get one more shot and we ought to have as much reform as possible in that piece.”
Rep. Troy Downing (R., Mont.) wasn’t as optimistic about the timing for a third reconciliation package. “Some folks think we have an opportunity to do two,” he told the Reporter. “I think we’re running out of time. We can’t allow DHS to run out of money, which is going to happen in weeks…The short answer is ‘yes,’ but it is going to be very difficult. Both of them are important. We can’t have DHS run out of money, but I am not convinced that all the work that needs to go through this will be done in 2-3 weeks. But, I am hoping that we can do it. If we can’t do it on this first one, I am hopeful that we have a third reconciliation to get all of that codified.”
Rep. Bob Latta (R., Ohio) said that he is “looking at a skinny reconciliation, then doing another, but it’s absolutely essential.” Latta, who has served on the Energy and Commerce Committee for 16 years, noted that Congress needs to tackle issues like “permitting and [] energy.”
“Years ago we were told we have no energy,” he noted. “Now we outproduce Saudi Arabia and Russia on any given day. We are number one in natural gas production, but what happens if you can’t move it from point A to B? Permitting is very important. We want to work with the administration on this.”
Rep. Craig Goldman (R., Texas), who serves with Latta on the Energy and Commerce Committee, told the Reporter that “we are working hard on that on the Energy and Commerce Committee every single day.”
One of the reasons that congressional Republicans want to codify as many of Trump’s executive orders as possible is because of their ephemerality. Rep. John Rose (R., Tenn.) noted that “we understand that executive orders are very fleeting, so the next time there’s a change of party they’ll be gone in a flash.” Rep. Jim Baird (R., Ind.) added that “we want to codify them because we don’t want a Democrat to change them down the road. He’s done a great job not only domestically, but internationally as well.”
But, Republicans see a lot that they like, and that they want codified. “I see so much of the good results of the president’s leadership,” Rep. Tim Moore (R., N.C.) said. “We have to codify as much as we can that will pass the Byrd Rule. I worry about the whipsaw effect of a new administration. Eventually there will be a Democrat in the White House.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.) agreed, saying that “we should always be trying to turn President Trump’s EOs into law.”
But it won’t be easy, Rep. Jeff Crank (R., Colo.) cautioned. “I know leadership certainly has a needle that they need to thread and I get that, but we’ve got to do everything we can to make America affordable again,” he said. “Energy and healthcare are big parts of that. I’m very much in favor of us trying to do as much as possible.”
Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.) is Trump’s pick to succeed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) in the upper chamber next year, and he told the Reporter that he wants Congress to codify Trump executive orders on “energy and healthcare, as well as housing.”
“Energy is a driver for everything,” Moore explained. “We need to do as much as we can to lower energy and healthcare costs. The Affordable Care Act was neither caring nor affordable. But let’s add housing to this too. Tom Homan is onto something; there are 20 million people here illegally, that’s got to be putting pressure on the housing market.”
Below are transcripts of our interviews with GOP lawmakers, lightly edited for clarity.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.)
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
That would be great; we are going to have this shot with this reconciliation to do immigration to make sure ICE and Border Patrol are funded; then we get one more shot and we ought to have as much reform as possible in that piece. We’ll see what that looks like when we get there, but we need to stay on offense.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
You’ve had prescription costs go way down. Having direct access to that portal so that people can buy the drugs that they need, and having it be cheaper is important.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
New documents were unveiled from whistleblowers that showed coordination from the White House and Fani Willis’s team in Atlanta, and that’s totally inappropriate. The Biden White House people were fawning over her, calling her an icon; it was bigger though, because it shows the coordination that took place between all of these entities to ruin President Trump’s life, to throw him in jail. It was about going after all of the organizations that stood up with him and the entire apparatus of the American right. We should have trials at some point. It’s 1,000 times worse than Watergate, and we should say that.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
I do think so. They’ve been pretty clear about Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and everything they’ve done has been in pursuit of that.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
Yes, Israel has been an important ally, and it’s in our interests for Iran to not have a nuclear weapon. President Trump has always been clear about that red line.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Sen. Eric Schmitt:
I’m 100 percent there. It probably won’t be the Congress that gets it done, but I would like to see that. When I get home, what real people talk about is that, college sports, not as much of this other stuff we do here.
Rep. Gary Palmer (R., Ala.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
I want to see us codify a lot of them; the president’s approach on price transparency is enormously important, to include in that setting up a guaranteed benefits pool to cover preexisting conditions. That is one of the biggest drivers of our healthcare costs. I introduced this as an amendment in 2017, but John McCain killed it. The president was all on board. That would bring down premiums in every age bracket.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
It’s currently impacting a limited number of drugs, but it’s had a tremendous impact for people who need them. There’s got to be a balance. We want those companies to make a profit. We want to lead the world in drug development. I want to focus on drugs that cure, not just that treat. We are in competition with China, our greatest adversary. There are things we need to do that will help this. One is patent protection, protecting intellectual property that China is stealing. We need to shorten the approval times. It takes well over 500 days to get practically any drug to market. By expediting the approval process that undergirds the profitability for companies, we can help with that. For a lot of drugs, by the time they get approved, something else has overtaken it. These companies invest billions and billions of dollars to get these drugs over the finish line.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
We need to investigate how Jack Smith justified gaining those records. One of the best ways to stop these abuses of warrantless searches is to prosecute the people who did them. If some of these people start going to jail, that’ll be the best thing we can do.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
They largely are. When you explained why this was needed, they get on board. I’ve given several speeches and I point out that Iran has been at war with us since 1979, and I point out that any attack on an embassy is the same as an attack against our homeland. They attacked our embassy in Iran, they bombed our embassies around the world, bombed our Marine barracks, bombed the Khobar Towers, at least 603 servicemembers were killed in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of Iran-supplied IEDs, including the son of one of my close friends. Every time I see ads for Tunnel for Towers, I think of that. The real question is why didn’t previous administrations take action? We have to finish the job. Gas prices under Biden went to around $5 a gallon, because of a war — the war on fossil fuels. Biden even had an executive order that said what percentage of the fleet needed to be electric. Right now, the high gas prices are temporary, but necessary in the context of this war. Democrats are constantly railing against Republicans on healthcare. What I want people to realize is that in the Working Families Tax Cuts, we put in $50 billion targeting improving healthcare in rural areas. President Trump called it historic. Every state got $100 million this year, the other half is open to grant requests. Every Democrat voted against it. When they talk about how they care about healthcare, look how they voted. Talk about seniors? Fifty-one point four million seniors paid no income tax on Social Security. Every Democrat voted against it. Democrats also mocked the no tax on tips, but it is paying off.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
Largely yes in Alabama. Alabama is the first state in the country to recognize the sovereignty of Israel, which they did in the summer of 1943.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Gary Palmer:
I would support that.
Rep John Rose (R., Tenn.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. John Rose:
Sure, I think the more of that, the better. We understand that executive orders are very fleeting, so the next time there’s a change of party they’ll be gone in a flash.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. John Rose:
The affordability crisis was created by the Democrats and the overreaching Biden spending policies post-COVID. That drove the inflationary spiral that we are still suffering from. The Federal Reserve and Treasury were complicit in this. The blame for the current crisis rests squarely with Joe Biden and perhaps with the Federal Reserve chairman. The president went about working immediately on this, and the prescription he has for the economy has been exactly on target. The way to end inflation is to lessen government spending and to increase productivity. An all of the above energy policy, reshoring manufacturing, opening up critical resources and minerals here at home. These are burgeoning supply side solutions. Those things take time. The Biden administration and Democrats stoked the fires of inflation for those four years. Trump has contained the fire, but as with fires, it takes time to put out all the embers.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. John Rose:
Absolutely, we should look for solutions that hold our law enforcement officials accountable. I don’t think that should be on the backs of taxpayers. I’m not for handing millions of dollars to senators who had their phone records taken.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. John Rose:
The liberal media, Democrats, and even some Republicans are trying to undermine the president’s strategy, but most Americans understand that for 47 years, we’ve been abused by Iran; thousands of Americans have been killed or maimed by their activities. The president showed the courage to step up; clearly it’s not the most politically expedient thing for him to do, but he showed remarkable commitment to doing the right thing, even when it’s not expedient. Tennesseans, when they see the full rationale, understand it and support it.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. John Rose:
Absolutely.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. John Rose:
I’ve been lobbied by constituents and others over the years. It’s not a big deal to me one way or another. Ben Franklin came up with the idea. I know it can be annoying. We need one national standard, but it’s not an issue I care about.
Rep. Jim Baird (R., Ind.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Jim Baird:
I do because he’s done a great deal looking at things that are important to people in my district; we want to codify them because we don’t want a Democrat to change them down the road. He’s done a great job not only domestically, but internationally as well.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Jim Baird:
When you look at the cost of medicines, it’s important. China controls about 90 percent of the API; we need to make sure we get those things back. The cost of medicine is just unreasonable.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Jim Baird:
I’m a little concerned, because just like all Americans, I’m concerned about how much information the government gathers. It needs to be monitored and we need there to be oversight.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Jim Baird:
They have been all along. The major factor is that President Trump has said that we don’t want Iran to ever have a nuclear capability. When you look at the past few months, you certainly see why that is true. If the 47 years that they’ve been sending terrorism around the world, killing Americans, if they had nuclear-capable warheads, they’d have used them.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Jim Baird:
Yes I do. A lot of our people are starting to recognize that when the terrorists talk about the west, they’re talking about Israel, and they want to annihilate them, but we are in the west too.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Jim Baird:
I’ve been fond of central time for a long time, but I’ve got a lot of other things on my mind. If that issue comes up, I’ll take a look at it.
Rep. Bob Latta (R., Ohio):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Bob Latta:
We are looking at a skinny reconciliation, then doing another, but it’s absolutely essential. I’ve been on the Energy and Commerce Committee for 16 years, and when you look at the issues that we’ve got like permitting and on energy, years ago we were told we have no energy. Now we outproduce Saudi Arabia and Russia on any given day. We are number one in natural gas production, but what happens if you can’t move it from point A to B? Permitting is very important. We want to work with the administration on this.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Bob Latta:
Our committee has health underneath us, and we want transparency out there for the consumer. The prices should be down. Look at what the president did with Most Favored Nation status; why should we pay more for a prescription here when it’s much cheaper elsewhere?
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Bob Latta:
When you think about separation of powers, we want to make sure that members of Congress can do their jobs, and we want to make sure that those records are safe and secure. We want to keep that separation of powers sacred.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Bob Latta:
On the Republican side, we all understand that we cannot even have Iran get a nuclear bomb, and they were getting very, very close. Back during the Obama administration, I met with Arab generals, and they all told me that if Iran ever gets a nuclear device, they all would have to as well. So how safe is that? Not very. We also know that Iran does not tell the truth, just look at what they said about not having a missile that can fire over 2,000 miles. What did they do? They fired one that can go ever farther.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Bob Latta:
Absolutely. When you look at Iran’s two stated goals, the number one goal is to destroy Israel, and number two is to destroy America. In this room, we saw the footage after October 7, of when Hamas crossed that border and killed 1,200 Israelis.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Bob Latta:
It depends where you’re from. If you’re from a state that has a lot of tourism, you might say you want Daylight Savings Time. We did this during the oil embargo to save energy, and we were sending kids to school in the dark. It takes me three weeks to readjust in the fall. I like waking up when it’s light outside.
Rep. Tim Moore (R., N.C.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Tim Moore:
Yes. I see so much of the good results of the president’s leadership. We have to codify as much as we can that will pass the Byrd Rule. I worry about the whipsaw effect of a new administration. Eventually there will be a Democrat in the White House.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Tim Moore:
What I’ve heard so far has been positive about providing better ways that consumers can afford their medications; I’m open to all sorts of ideas, and I am just proud that this president has taken it seriously.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Tim Moore:
The only reason that lawmakers’ records should be seized is if there’s a true belief that there was some sort of criminal activity that occurred. Lawmakers shouldn’t be treated differently than anyone else, but the problem with Jack Smith is that members of Congress were singled out and targeted, that’s just wrong and there should be consequences.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Tim Moore:
I really do. I’ve not heard much pushback on that. This has needed to happen for nearly 50 years. We’ve had previous administrations that were grossly negligent, chiefly among them Jimmy Carter who did nothing, and then look at the Obama years, where they were just giving them money, trying to buy them off, and Iran just thumbed their noses at us.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Tim Moore:
I do. There’s always a few voices that are out there that oppose Israel for whatever reason, but Israel is an ally, a democracy in a really tough part of the world, but the thing that gets lost, especially by the left, is the fact that this president has been able to take very bold steps against Iran, and the other countries of the Middle East have generally sided with the U.S. and with Israel, it wasn’t that many years ago that many hypothesized that Israel attacking Iran would result in World War III. These other countries realize that Iran is the problem. Iran has fired missiles at Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and those are Islamic countries that still stand by the right that Israel has to exist, and that we can’t have a nuclear-armed Iran.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Tim Moore:
We should make Daylight Savings Time permanent; it makes sense. We’ll still have shorter days, but you need to have the longer end on the back end.
Rep. Craig Goldman (R., Texas):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
Absolutely, 1000 percent, we are working hard on that on the Energy and Commerce Committee every single day.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
The whole point is to bring drug prices down, and that was a tremendous first step. This surely benefitted my constituents, and I hope we see more of it.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
One-thousand percent, absolutely. What he did was illegal.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
A supermajority of my Republican colleagues are, certainly in our conference we are united. Past administrations have talked about it, but he’s the only one who acted on it. Taking out the Iranian regime that existed is a game changer, not just for our generation, but for the future. They were evil individuals who murdered their own people, funded Hezbollah, funded Hamas, funded terrorist organizations around the world.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
One-thousand percent, unlike the Democrats. It astounds me that they can take these votes and express their anti-Israelism, if you will. Israel is a tremendous ally.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Craig Goldman:
We voted a number of times on that, there is a piece of legislation basically every session in the Texas state House, and we voted to keep it permanent every single time. Daylight Savings Time is the number one complaint I get from constituents. Changing it makes common sense, and that’s hard to do.
Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Barry Moore:
Yes, energy and healthcare, as well as housing. Energy is a driver for everything. We need to do as much as we can to lower energy and healthcare costs. The Affordable Care Act was neither caring nor affordable. But let’s add housing to this too. Tom Homan is onto something; there are 20 million people here illegally, that’s got to be putting pressure on the housing market.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Barry Moore:
TrumpRx is a good thing, but the Most Favored Nation status on drugs is the biggest. He actually had to negotiate that with other countries. We were subsidizing a number of other countries on the backs of Americans. To the president’s credit, he’s done TrumpRx but the Most Favored Nation push is so important and it is going to lower drug costs.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Barry Moore:
Yes, I’d like to see some of these guys perp walk. The weaponization under the Biden administration was out of control. People in my district ask me when are people going to be held accountable. There needs to be arrests, there needs to be indictments, and that does include Jack Smith. It’s usually worse than you think.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Barry Moore:
Yes, we’ve been at war a long time with Iran. It’s been 47 years. It’s a necessary thing that needed to be done. The president, to his credit, does what’s best for the country. He doesn’t do what’s politically expedient. Around Alabama, they love what he’s doing, and they trust him to do it.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Barry Moore:
Yes. Genesis 12:3 says that if you bless Israel, you’ll be blessed, and if you curse Israel, you will be cursed. There are factions within our own party and the far left that don’t necessarily support Israel, but in Alabama, we stand with Israel.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Barry Moore:
I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to make it happen. I think that’s a $20 million question on whether Congress can get it done.
Rep. Jeff Crank (R., Colo.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
Yes, I’d love to do that. I know leadership certainly has a needle that they need to thread and I get that, but we’ve got to do everything we can to make America affordable again. Energy and healthcare are big parts of that. I’m very much in favor of us trying to do as much as possible.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
It has helped, I’ve heard of some folks who’ve gone to it and can’t find their specific medication, so we want to make sure that as many medications are on that as possible. We need to solve it through the free market, bring competition, lower prices, and push back on insurance companies that are driving the costs. The president’s plan is something that is another option that brings affordability to the market in drugs and I’m all for doing it and making sure we do more of it.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
Yes; you would think that the Constitution would have stopped that because we have separation of powers, but I do think that Congress ought to take action, and it should be bipartisan. We should respect the other branches of government, we should respect the rights of the executive branch, and the executive needs to defer to us on these issues. We need to stop the executive branch’s overreach that we saw with this.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
Yes, and we’ve had several test votes of it, and besides one member of our caucus we’ve stood with Trump. This is easy. War is never easy, but look at 47 years of an Iranian regime that has exported terror, killed Americans around the world, and zealously pursued a nuclear capability and the annihilation of America, it was long past time to act. We are supportive that the president did it. Republicans in Congress are supportive of the president; we want it to end as quickly and as successfully as possible.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
Yes, it used to be a nonpartisan issue to support Israel but it seems more partisan. Democrats have raised a lot of money trying to convince supporters of Israel that they are supporters of Israel, but when it comes down to it, they cut and ran. This is an easy one, to support Israel after October 7, when they were attacked by proxies of Iran. The Republican caucus is very strongly in support of Israel.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make Daylight Savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Jeff Crank:
We ought to make a decision on it, I’m probably in favor of getting to Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time, any place that we can all agree on.
Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Randy Fine:
We should always be trying to turn President Trump’s EOs into law.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Randy Fine:
It’s a big deal, the costs that people are paying for drugs is a big deal. My own father tells me about it. He tells me that he’s paying less for drugs.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Randy Fine:
There may be a time in which lawmaker records should be seized; I would love to see Eric Swalwell’s records, for example, so I don’t want to say anything blanket about this, but we absolutely have to crack down on any kinds of abuses. Joe Biden used lawfare to target Republicans, and that is unacceptable and can never happen again.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Randy Fine:
Absolutely, all I hear from Republicans in my district is that they are supportive of Trump. They tell me to tell him ‘go President Trump go.’
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Randy Fine:
Yes, absolutely, I don’t sense any issue, any daylight. We are becoming more pro-Israel, not less, because frankly Jews are leaving the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party is mainstreaming Jew hatred.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Randy Fine:
I’d vote for it. Daylight Savings has no point, no purpose, and it’s really aggravating when that happens; that ought to be bipartisan.
Rep. Troy Downing (R., Mont.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Troy Downing:
Here’s the thing — some folks think we have an opportunity to do two, I think we’re running out of time. We can’t allow DHS to run out of money, which is going to happen in weeks. The work that we need to do to get a reconciliation in there will be difficult. The short answer is ‘yes,’ but it is going to be very difficult. Both of them are important. We can’t have DHS run out of money, but I am not convinced that all the work that needs to go through this will be done in 2-3 weeks. But, I am hoping that we can do it. If we can’t do it on this first one, I am hopeful that we have a third reconciliation to get all of that codified.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Troy Downing:
The biggest driver of healthcare costs right now is the prescription drug chain, from manufacturer to distributor. It’s been a positive move, but we need more. On the insurance side, 25 cents of every dollar spent on insurance premiums is spent on pharma, and that includes everything. This tells you that there’s a problem, and if you start looking down that supply chain, everyone is pointing their fingers. PBMs blame GPOs, the GPOs blame the manufacturers, the manufacturers blame the PBMs, the pharmacies blame the PBMs, and the PBMs blame the PSOs, and they all blame the payers. But there are a lot of people in that food chain. TrumpRx has been a very positive movement, and I want that, but what we need to do on a bigger scale is make sure that we are turning the lights on on every part of that, from manufacturer to dispensing prescriptions so that everyone understands where that money is coming from. The manufacturers need to have formularies, and the only way they can have formularies is by doing these rebates. PBMs try to say that they’re not getting all the rebates because part of those are going to GPOs and wholesale groups, there’s a lot of push on trying to get that to go to the ultimate payer, whether that’s the patient or the insurance company. The reality of it is that we need to turn those lights on so that you can see the money in that system and allow the markets to do what markets do rather than obscuring it and hiding it. In the meantime, some of the things like TrumpRx, Most Favored Nation, these are really good conversations, and there’s a lot of meat on the bone there.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Troy Downing:
One-hundred percent, we have to. That was such a violation, we need to have side boards in there to prevent weaponizing that kind of information.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Troy Downing:
United? Anybody who understands the risk is united. When it comes down to it, this is not a Republican or a Democrat thing. The world, not the United States, not the Middle East, not Israel — the world, cannot afford an Islamist terrorist regime to have access to nuclear weapons. We need to close the loop on that. We need to identify, deal with, neutralize, retrieve all nuclear material. Even 60 percent uranium is pretty close to weapons grade, and can be used in dirty bombs. We need to make sure that they have no possibility to develop nuclear weapons. Maximum pressure is how you do this. Since the ayatollahs took over, they have been very good at playing the game, while playing games in the back room. Taking out their ballistic missiles is important not just to the region, but it’s important to make sure that they’re not just paying lip service while they’re continuing to fulfil their aspirations. We need to see an end to this quickly. Under this administration, we made it clear that we have the capability and the resolve to see this through.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Troy Downing:
I believe so. I am 100 percent behind Israel. Israel has been our strongest democratic ally in a part of the world where a lot of folks don’t like us, in part because it is in our own interests. A lot of people try to spin this to say that it’s not in our interests to support our allies, but in the world today, it’s important that we have allies in parts of the world where we don’t have a lot of friends.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Troy Downing:
I’m in a far Northern, agricultural district, and that would cause a lot of problems in my district. You don’t want school kids going to school in the dark in the morning. Farmers are already waking up at o’dark thirty, we don’t want to make it even harder on them. It would wreak a lot of havoc in my state.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R., Ga.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
I would, I think he’s doing some great things, but the only way it lasts is if we codify it. The first thing a Democrat would do is erase everything he did. The more we codify, the better.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
We’ve had GoodRx and other entities try to do similar things, but the more transparency we have, the better. One of the things I’m trying to get out there is we need more competitive pricing, and also don’t use your insurance company. This has to be a collective education process. If I prescribed you an antibiotic, probably for the same price as your co-pay or your deductive, you’re going to be able to buy that medication. The problem is, when you buy it using your insurance, they’re going to charge the company full price, then the insurance company is going to add 10 percent, because they’re allowed to. So that thing that you could have bought for about $10, for the same price as your copay, is going to cost you $100 from your insurance company. I’d much rather see us all get educated and pay out of pocket as much as possible, just like you would for your car. You’re not going to report something for $200 if you have a $1,000 deductible, because that is going to make your rates go up. That is exactly the same concept here. We have not been educated to use insurance the way we do everything else. If you use your car insurance to change your oil or your blinker, imagine how much your car insurance would cost. You wouldn’t be able to afford it. That’s the problem with health insurance: we use it for too much.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
Of course, any time we have our privacy infiltrated, that’s bad. We are American citizens just like everybody else. I have a problem when we treat ourselves differently than everyone else. I don’t think I’m the problem. I want to be treated like every other civilian, not better, not worse.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
In my state yes, for sure. We have a pretty united front. Even if you’re against it to begin with, we’re at war now. Finish what you started. In Afghanistan, we spent 20 years and so much of our treasure all just to give it back to the same people who started in charge. That’s very personal for me. I spent nine months away from my family because of that war, and I have countless friends who lost limbs and lives, and suffer from brain injuries. If you start something, you need to finish it.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
Absolutely.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Rich McCormick:
About time. I don’t see why we do this antiquated system based on old technologies. There’s no advantage to moving the time back and forth, it’s actually bad. We lose a lot of money and suffer a lot of mental health problems from the constant changes.
Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R., Fla.):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
Yes.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
It’s a huge play, everyone talked about reducing prescription drug costs, and he actually did it. It’s about time we stop subsidizing the rest of the world. I’m so pleased by this direction, and it’s one of the ways that we can bring down costs for everyday Americans.
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to pass legislation to prevent further abuses of power like what we saw under Jack Smith?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
With FISA in general, we saw the abuse of power by the Biden administration. Fortunately they made the 56 adjustments, that’s why I’m comfortable supporting the FISA bill that the president asked for. Trump has been the biggest victim of this abuse. When Democrats have power, they take away the rights of individuals, and that’s what fascists and communists do.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
Americans are clearly recognizing the increasing threat that Iran is. It’s not just the nuclear materials, but also the ability to fire missiles 2,500 miles. They lied about that as well. It’s a short term challenge but a long term success if we can finish the job with Iran, because that means we’d be spending less money in the Middle East, and we’d take a real threat not only to the Middle East, but to the world, off the map.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
Our number one ally in the Middle East is Israel; they share our values of life and freedom, they are the most compassionate country in the Middle East. They provide opportunities even for people who don’t share their religion; if Israel gets taken out, we are next.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Mike Haridopolos:
I am a prime sponsor of that, I think it’s a great idea. We have a much different economy than we did back in the 19th century.
Rep Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas):
Washington Reporter:
Do you want Congress to codify President Trump’s energy and healthcare related executive orders via the next reconciliation?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
Yes.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump’s TrumpRx was a big affordability win and lowered drug prices by up to 80 percent — is this important in your district?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
Yes, I’ve got McKesson in my district, so we’ve got businesses that are being positively affected by it that I see firsthand; they regularly meet with my office. My constituents are concerned with the price of pharmaceuticals, but they also agree that when we look at what foreign nations are paying for our drugs, there needs to be some kind of offset. We in the U.S. pay too much, we’ve seen a direct decrease in the amount that people are paying for their drugs, and now we are competitive with the rest of the world when it comes to costs.
Washington Reporter:
Are Republicans united behind President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
I’ve heard mixed messages, honestly. I was just with a bunch of North Texans this past weekend, and they are very eager for this war to be over. People do understand the threat posed by Iran, however. There will be generational change in Iran. Iran has proven that it does have missile capabilities that could reach London. This was a necessary war, but I also believe that it should be a short war. Boots on the ground is where Texans would draw the line.
Washington Reporter:
Are your colleagues and constituents united behind President Trump’s staunch support for Israel?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
Yes, there is a tremendous amount of support for Israel.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump told me in our latest interview that he wants to lock the clock and make daylight savings time permanent — where are you at on that?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
Yes. Absolutely. We don’t all live on farms anymore.
