Rep. Tom Cole Now Sitting On House Rules Committee

With Republicans regaining the majority in the United States House of Representative, members of Oklahoma’s all-Republican delegation have been vaulted into positions of leadership, and none more significant than the one now held by 4th District Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK4).

Cole is now the number two Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, which is a significant achievement itself, but being the chairman of the Rules committee tops that, because pretty much all bills go through Rules.

"Any bill that’s consequential and has any division about it comes to Rules," Cole said in a recent interview.

There are many bills that most would agree aren't so consequential and which don't cause division -- “suspension” bills, as they're known, because normal rules are suspended for their consideration. Such bills, Cole said, typically don't go through the Rules Committee.

"But if it’s something where the two parties are going to differ, or it's something like appropriations bills that fund the government, or tax legislation, major regulatory--all that has to come to rules," Cole stated.

And now, after four years of serving as the ranking member, Cole is in charge. He is the first to admit that he does not operate unilaterally -- bills are handled in careful consultation with GOP leadership, which he is part of.

"You decide what amendments were made in order, how long the debate will be, whether the bill is subject to points of order," Cole noted.

And having control over those things, Cole said, is very much controlling the battlefield.

"If you get to pick the battlefield and design where the battle is going to be fought," Cole said, "you win most of the time."

And certainly that's been the case so far in this 118th Congress. Although the harsh reality for Republicans is, even though they now have the gavel in the House, Democrats still control the Senate -- so, most of the bills they've passed won't go any further.

One of the concessions Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had to make to get the votes to be speaker was agreeing to put three Freedom Caucus members on the Rules Committee. Cole said, so far, they have all been great to work with.