As the newest House Republican, one of Rep. Matt Van Epps’s (R., Tenn.) first acts was to join the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), led by Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas). 

Van Epps joined Rep. Mark Alford (R., Mo.) for the latest episode of the RSC’s flagship podcast, Right to the Point the episode was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter. In that episode, Van Epps discusses why he joined the RSC with Alford, the RSC’s messaging chair. He also discussed his “mission” in Congress, which he tied back to his years of service in the U.S. Army.

Van Epps’s father’s service in the Vietnam War motivated both him and his brother, who is still active duty in the Army, to graduate from West Point and serve in the military. 

Once the future representative graduated from West Point, he deployed to Iraq eight times to take out “terrorists and high-value targets,” he told Alford. Van Epps was in a class that graduated shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and a desire to serve has motivated his career ever since.

“Those very formative experiences early in my career are helpful,” he explained. “Forming our teams and staying really focused on the mission, that’s what we’re doing today. I have an amazing team. I’m so proud of them. From the campaign team to the official office team.”

Van Epps’s seat, while in a solidly-Republican district, Democrats poured money into Tennessee to try and flip it, only for him to prevail by almost double digits. Now that he is in office, he said that he’s “come in with a deliberate effort to lean into a few different areas…one of the things that happened this past week in district for us was a big ice storm that hit Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, all over our rural counties. Nashville got a lot of [attention]. We said the number one priority last week of my constituent services was reaching out and ensuring our team stayed connected to mayors across our district. Seeing the outpouring of support, neighbors taking care of neighbors was critical. But from the very first moment that we took office back on December 4, we wanted to ensure that our field officers were up and running.”

Van Epps explained that “first and foremost,” his mission in Congress is “to uphold, defend the Constitution of the United States and to deliver for the people of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.” In addition to that, he said that his mission is “also to work with our colleagues in Congress, to get things done, to advance meaningful policy and legislation, in line with the president and to get that done for the American people.”

As a military veteran who succeeded the former chair of the Homeland Security Committee in Congress, Van Epps’s committee assignment is “perfect” for him, Alford said. 

“Homeland Security with my special operations aviation background and the time in the Army and going and going after those terrorists who were high-value targets is right in line with my background,” Van Epps said. “I’m on two subcommittees: they’re transportation and maritime security. And we just had a great hearing with the Coast Guard. And I’m on counterterrorism and and Intel subcommittee as well, which is aligned with my background at West Point. They stood up something called the Combating Terrorism Center in 2004. When I was there, I was in the very first cohort of cadets that were in a seminar class associated with that center. It’s the same center that evaluated the bin Laden papers after that raid.”

Van Epps, whose first dream was to be an astronaut, also serves on the Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Committee. He was “born and raised just east of Cleveland, Ohio,” and his home state raised some of America’s most famous astronauts.

“More and more astronauts are from Ohio,” he said. “As a kid growing up, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin were heroes of mine. And when I was at West Point, I did an undergraduate fellowship with the center for the study of the Presidency and Congress that brought me to D.C. when I was a cadet, also in 2004. And one of the things that I got to do is there’s a big dinner for that program. And I didn’t know who I was going to be sitting with. And they try to put one kind of dignitary at each table. And I happen to be sitting right next to Buzz Aldrin. And so that was a full circle moment for me.”

“Now,” he continued, “being on Science and Technology, and just having done the NASA reauthorization bill, which was incredible, is another full circle moment. So I’m really excited about serving on that committee. Everything from quantum and AI, to NASA to the commercialization of space and how private companies and NASA can work together is the future.”

Pfluger, who eagerly welcomed Van Epps into his committee, said that “Matt Van Epps spent his career defending this country. Now he’s defending American values in Congress. Tennessee sent the Republican Study Committee a conservative who’s ready to deliver on the mandate the American people gave us. We’re proud to have him join our ranks along with over two-thirds of House Republicans.”

The latest episode of the RSC’s Right to the Point podcast can be found here, as can all of its predecessors.