Brooks: Republicans have a majority, but conservatives do not

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March 30, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In an interview with Cliff Sims on Yellowhammer Radio, Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL5) said the Republicans may have the majority in Congress now, but conservatives are still very much in the minority.

“Let me be clear,” Rep. Brooks said, “while Republicans are the majority in the House and the majority in the Senate, conservatives are not a majority in the House or a majority in the United States Senate.”

But Brooks added that while there are “a number of liberal, squishy moderate Republicans” in both the House and the Senate, he gives the House “pretty strong” grades overall despite the Senate’s “largely ineffectual” tenure since Republicans gained the majority in November.

“In fairness to [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell,” he said, “they have been largely ineffectual because although they have a majority, they don’t have control of the United States Senate. You’ve got a filibuster possibility in the United States Senate, and to have control of the Senate you’d have to overcome a filibuster. The margin that you need is 60 votes, and we don’t have 60 Republicans in the United States Senate. So, Senator Harry Reid and his 46 Democrat allies are able to obstruct the Republicans on almost anything they want to do.”

Several GOP measures have been filibustered in the Senate since the 114th Congress convened, including a bill that would bring harsher penalties on human traffickers. Democrats filibustered the bill because it banned federal funds from being used for abortions.

During the interview Rep. Brooks also said he thinks Senator Ted Cruz, who just announced he is running for President in 2016, could be as great as former President Ronald Reagan.

Check out the audio from the interview in the clip above.