Cole gives legislative update in Chickasha

Mar. 26—Members of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce received a legislative update.

Congressman Tom Cole came to Chickasha and gave a speech to the members, discussing different topics dealing with legislative and government issues Monday. Cole gave his thoughts on a variety of issues, but one major theme came across during the speech.

Things have been unusual.

Cole praises Speaker's handling of Congress

Cole was complimentary of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson when he spoke to the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce.

Cole said he was happy with how Johnson has taken over the position in what Cole believes is one of the most — if not the most — unusual Congresses.

Johnson took over as Speaker of the House after Kevin McCarthy got ousted from the position in October of 2023. The removal came after it took 15 ballots for McCarthy to gain the position to begin with.

Johnson, a Republican out of Louisiana, was then named to the position.

Since then, Cole has been proud of how Johnson has handled a pretty unusual situation.

Cole said Johnson could have let the government shut down when he took over, but the Republican continued to help pass continuing resolutions that kept the government active instead.

Cole also credited Johnson for helping in the passing of appropriations bills that required compromise with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president. Cole added that being able to compromise was a key factor in trying to get those bills passed. Cole added that getting things passed in an election year is difficult.

Cole talks about rare, unusual election

Congressman Cole also discussed the upcoming election. During Monday's speech, Cole said the 2024 presidential election is actually pretty rare.

Cole said in order to find an election like the one this year, someone would have to go back more than 130 years. He said to look at the 1892 election between Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland.

Cleveland won the 1884 election but lost to Harrison in 1888. The two ran against each other in 1892, and Cleveland came out on top.

On the horizon

As for some big topics moving forward, Cole said that inflation, the southern border and an overall dangerous world will be important topics that could continue to dominate the political landscape.

The southern border has been a long-lasting debate among the political parties. As for a dangerous world, Cole said that after recent attacks across the globe, it is apparent that terrorism has not gone away.

Cole also discussed the economy as a whole. He said that while unemployment remains relatively low, people still feel like they are behind when it comes to how prices have gone at places like grocery stores.