President Donald Trump has been leading America for some 45 days, and Democrats are hysterical in using every trick in their book to make governance impossible.
They have slow-walked nominations, systematically leaked damaging, classified information to friendly reporters , disrupted Republican town halls, “flynned” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and threw a cultural fit because Hillary Clinton lost and they don’t want to give up power.
Republicans, with the largest Republican majorities in Congress since 1928, were expected to repeal Obamacare — exposing Obama’s malfeasances — re-limit the federal government and help Trump with his mandates. Instead, as some have labeled them, the Republican Congress is becoming a “Do-Nothing Congress” or the “Silence of the Lambs Congress,” unwilling or unable to help Trump govern the nation.
Demonstrating his own courage and independence, North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows spoke to The Daily Caller News Foundation this week about the state of play between the White House and the Congress.
Beyond what the White House is doing, not much is getting accomplished, he says.
“There has not been one piece of substantial legislation that has hit the president’s desk that has moved through the House or the Senate and here we are in March. We were supposed to hit the ground running. Vice President Pence said, ‘buckle up!’” With a focus on manning the government and enacting major legislation, Meadows reports “it’s the Congress thwarting the ability of the president to get some things done.”
The level-headed congressman was chosen in December to be the new chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a beloved group of conservatives closest to grassroots voters and guided by limited government principles. Leadership labels them as “troublemakers,” “maniacs or “extremists” who won’t bend to leadership group-think. In the mold of the Vice President Mike Pence, when he served in the House of Representatives, these conservatives ask pesky questions, make principled demands and think Republicans should keep their campaign promises.
When asked to explain the impediments, the likable Meadows explains the problem stems from a “fear of getting the policy wrong” or, really, “fear of being held accountable by the voters.”
This coming week, the House will begin the process to repeal Obamacare, the major unifying policy and campaign promise for Republicans since 2010. Republican leaders seem bent on disappointing, or at least testing, Trump voters as the House prepares to steamroll legislation to repeal Obamacare, packaged with a controversial “RyanCare” replacement bill.
Are Republicans changing sides on the war against government health care? From the leaked and secret drafts, RyanCare expands Medicaid, creates a new welfare program using refundable tax credits, raises taxes, and opens controversial abortion procedures to be covered. Since they are skipping hearings and some of the old-fashioned subcommittee markups, Meadows says he sadly thinks Republicans are, like Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, operating on the concept that we “have to pass the bill to know what’s in it.”
In other parts of this exclusive video interview, Meadows dismisses the hyper-swarming and “faux outrage” on Sessions about meeting with a Russian ambassador, something all members of Congress frequently do.
As for the underlying theory that Russians somehow swung the vote away from Clinton, Meadows says leaked emails were not what moved the voters. The American people “wanted someone to challenge the status quo and that was Donald Trump,” he says.
Regarding the subversive leaking occurring, Meadows detests but understands it. The bureaucrats who have been pursuing their private or hidden agendas fear that Trump “is for real” and their games may be exposed, holding them accountable to the American people.
Meadows previews seven upcoming must-pass pieces of legislation that will require vigilance for conservative opportunities to govern. They must pass before August and include Obamacare repeal, the 2018 budget, reconciliation, tax reform, the new government spending bill, raising the debt ceiling and defense authorization.
For more on Meadows, see his website, his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter @RepMarkMeadows.
Videographer Sean Moody is credited with the video work for this piece.
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