The Daily 202: Koch network growing frustrated with the GOP’s 2018 agenda
THE BIG IDEA: Leaders of the conservative Koch political network are mad about President Trump’s tariffs, the failure to protect “dreamers” and runaway government spending. They’re frustrated that congressional leaders do not feel a greater sense of urgency to pass more ambitious legislation during what could be the final six months of unified Republican control for a long time. And they’re worried that squabbling might derail their efforts to roll back financial regulations, expand access to experimental medicines and overhaul the criminal justice system.
For now, the network led by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch still plans to spend between $300 million to $400 million on politics and policy during the 2018 cycle. But they’re growing impatient, rethinking their approach and signaling a willingness to work more closely with Democrats on areas of common ground.
“We're not going to sit back and wait, as we have in the past,” said James Davis, a senior official at the network who oversees communications. “We’ve also pulled punches in a lot of places where we didn't want to upset folks that we were going to be working with on other issues. … So we're going to have to come out and hold Republicans and Democrats accountable. … If they think they're going to wait out the clock for the rest of this congressional cycle, voters would be right to ask: ‘Why should I send these people back to represent me?’”
No comments:
Post a Comment