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Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas has earned a reputation for speaking candidly about his political beliefs. Take yesterday, for example.
“Everything that we do in the House of Representatives should be in the best interests of getting Donald Trump re-elected,” Nehls said — while wearing a necktie featuring images of the former president.
In general, elected lawmakers tend to say that everything Congress does should be in the best interests of the American public, but the Texan apparently didn’t feel the need to maintain the pretense. As Nehls described it, the House of Representatives shouldn’t necessarily serve as part of a powerful branch of government. Rather, the House is effectively a super PAC, looking out for the interests of a twice-impeached suspected felon.
The comments led Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. to respond online soon after, “Elected Republicans think their #1 job in office is helping Donald Trump. Not aiding the people, not protecting America, serving Trump. The Republican Party is unfit to govern America and doesn’t give a damn about you.”
What’s interesting about Nehls, however, is his indifference to appearances. The GOP congressman apparently realizes that he looks more like a sycophantic Trump superfan and less like an elected federal lawmaker, but he just doesn’t seem to care.
This is, for example, the same Nehls who said a few weeks ago that he supports extending his party’s failed 2017 tax cuts because, “Trump is right all the time. Trump is right all the time.” A few days prior, Nehls also said that House Speaker Mike Johnson should be “consulting with Donald Trump on just about everything we do.”
The month before that, Nehls attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address while wearing a T-shirt featuring Trump’s mugshot.
But perhaps most notable of all is the fact that the Texas Republican has reinforced his reputation as The King of Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud. In January, for example, Nehls said he wanted to derail a bipartisan border bill because it might “help Joe Biden’s approval rating.”
It wasn’t an isolated incident. Remember the congressman who tied Trump’s re-election bid to the GOP’s anti-Biden impeachment drive? That was Nehls. Remember the congressman who said the anti-Biden impeachment drive was about giving Trump “a little bit of ammo”? That was Nehls.
Remember the congressman who said the Ethics Committee’s findings related to then-Rep. George Santos looked “pretty damaging,” but the party should prioritize the size of its majority over propriety? That was Nehls, too.
And now the Texan is adding to his list, saying what other congressional Republicans might believe but are reluctant to say on camera: “Everything that we do in the House of Representatives should be in the best interests of getting Donald Trump re-elected.”
To be sure, the candor is welcome, though by any fair measure, these public comments don’t exactly position the Texas Republican as a principled policymaker who’s serious about his governing responsibilities.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.