WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since ascending to the position of Ranking Member of the powerful House Oversight Committee last year, Tompkinsville Congressman James Comer has been everywhere. He's emerged as a national figure, banding together with fellow Republicans to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, aiming to shift the conversation away from former President Donald Trump's actions and instead suggesting she must be held accountable for the security lapses during the insurrection on Jan. 6. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. James Comer has emerged as a national figure, banding with fellow Republicans to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

  • When asked how he was balancing his new national profile with his responsibilities to the first congressional district, Comer said he doesn't view the roles as competing priorities

  • Comer doesn't support the Biden Administration's American Rescue Plan; His district includes 35 counties that Democrats argue will reap the benefits of the proposed recovery law

  • Expect Comer to also be vocal against the Biden Administration's immigration policy

When asked how he was balancing his new national profile with his responsibilities to the first congressional district, Comer said he doesn't view the roles as competing priorities. 

"I think we can play both roles. I think the people in my district know that I’m a conservative voice. I’m an advocate for the taxpayers. If you go back to my time in Frankfort, I would always ask questions about how does this benefit the taxpayers, and if it didn’t benefit the taxpayers, then I was always opposed to it," Comer said in an interview with Spectrum News 1 Tuesday. He previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012 and was the state's Agriculture Commissioner from 2012 to 2016.

His Congressional staff office notes he's introduced the bipartisan Child Abuse Treatment and Prevention Act ​that would address Kentucky's status as first in the nation in child abuse cases​. They also say he's attuned to the concerns of Kentucky's tourism industry by questioning the federal government on what Comer describes as a lack of transparency and unfairness in levying fees against marina owners. ​Like the rest of Kentucky's lawmakers in Washington, he's also vocal about supporting the expansion of rural broadband with federal investment. 

It hasn't been widely reported, but Comer will enjoy a newfound ability to extract information from the Biden Administration. That is thanks to a lawsuit former Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings filed years ago when Cummings was Ranking Member.

"The court finally ruled, and they ruled in favor of the Minority and said that if seven members of the Oversight Committee sign a letter, and request information from the administration, then the administration has to turn that information over as long as it is not classified. That’s going to give me the ability, if I exercise it, to request information from the Biden Administration on anything related to government expenditures, mismanagement, waste, fraud and abuse," said Comer, pledging not to abuse his power.

Comer doesn't support the Biden Administration's American Rescue Plan, citing, in part, issues with the level of foreign aid in the bill, though that is just a small portion of the nearly two trillion dollar package. His district includes 35 counties that Democrats argue will reap the benefits of the proposed recovery law.

"I look at somebody like Jamie Comer who represents 30 counties in my state, and all of those 30 counties are going to get money. All of the hundreds of towns in his district are going to get money, about 85% of his constituents will get $1,400 each, and I don't know how you vote against something like that, but they are going to. I'm convinced Republicans just don't want to support anything," said Rep. John Yarmuth, (D-District 3), a Louisville Democrat who chairs the House Budget Committee, in an interview on MSNBC Sunday.

"They are going to benefit from it in the short term," said Comer, dismissing the plan as "bad debt," and going so far as to call further deficit spending "immoral" due to its implications for future generations. 

Expect Comer to also be vocal against the Biden Administration's immigration policy.

"We have to focus on the people that are trying to get into this country lawfully and there are people everyday who get into this country lawfully. The people who have gotten into this country unlawfully, I don’t think they should be rewarded for that and I think that’s the overwhelming consensus in Kentucky," said Comer.