The Republican Party seems to have lost sight of the fact it rules Washington and appears unable to govern, former Rep. Tom Tancredo tells Newsmax TV.
"It just does not seem to me they've figured out that in fact they won and they should now be governing. That's how it's supposed to work," Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, said Wednesday to Newsmax's JD Hayworth.
"Why is it so impossible to figure out a way to honestly start governing and moving an agenda that you would think most Republicans agree with?
"Maybe it's because the leadership of the party — and I use that term kind of loosely — doesn't agree with that sort of Republican agenda that was articulated by Donald Trump, especially that part that dealt with immigration."
See JD Hayworth on Newsmax TV: Tune in beginning at 10 AM EDT to see "JD Hayworth on Newsmax TV" — on FiOS 615, YouTube Livestream, Newsmax TV App from any smartphone, NewsmaxTV.com, Roku, Amazon Fire — More Systems Here
But the scene on Capitol Hill is a "bizarre" one with the GOP in charge of the Senate, the House and the White House, said Tancredo, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.
"[Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell says things like, 'I don't know how to get this through,' and [House Speaker Paul] Ryan says, 'We can't do it,''' he told Hayworth.
"Do you remember . . . the Medicare Prescription Drug Act? If you want to see how you can get something through that even most Republicans didn't want but the president and leadership in the House and Senate wanted? We had this all-nighter on the House floor because they didn't have 218 votes.
"But they eventually got them . . . When you have the House, the Senate, and presidency, you and I know there is absolutely no way you can use that excuse of 'we can't get this done.' Between parliamentary tricks and the sausage-making method of passing laws in Washington, you can get it done. They choose not to."
Tancredo said the Republican Congress doesn't appear to want a Republican agenda passed.
"We've said it for years . . . railed against the leadership that always seemed to be reluctant to push a really aggressive conservative agenda for fear, I guess, the fear of the loss of power, right? Could that really be it? But what more do they need?" Tancredo said.
"For God's sake, this was a historical election. Democrats have lost over 1,600 seats across the nation. We have more governorships than we've had in I don't know how long. What other message does the Republican leadership want to hear?
"How can they constantly ignore this, that indeed most Republicans want change? They don't want the continuation of the transformation of America that was promised by the last dictator in chief. So, I just don't get it."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.