Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., need to be "bold" and stand behind a bill to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Donald Trump, Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles told Newsmax on Thursday.
In an interview on "Wake Up America," Ogles — who has joined at least a half-dozen other Republicans pushing for the name change of one of the D.C. area's major airports to Donald J. Trump International Airport — argued that even without a clear path of passage in the Senate, "you always swing for the fences."
"We have an obligation to do our jobs and part of that is to honor the former president and to set the stage," he said. "We've got to win the House, the Senate, and the White House in the 2024 elections. And that means we've got to get Donald Trump elected, and so let's send a message to America, let's just send a message to our allies that we're serious about this, and we're going to win."
Ogles pointed out lawmakers only have to "look at where we are as a nation."
"Our enemies are on the move around the world," he said. "Why? Because we appear weak. It is time that we put a flag, a stake in the ground and say enough is enough. And part of that is to send a message to Joe Biden … that Donald Trump was better than you are. His policies were better than your policies. The world was a better place under Donald Trump."
He also urged Johnson to stand behind the legislation, which was introduced by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., and the majority chief deputy whip — and "make some more aggressive play calls."
"I've been critical of some of his play calls, but that being said … we have a fight," Ogles said. "We have an agenda and a message that we have to win. And as Republicans, sometimes, we don't do the best job at that. And this is an opportunity for … Mike Johnson to be bold."
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Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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