WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington Wednesday triumphant, fresh off winning back the White House.
Reelected Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Crescent Springs, joined fellow Republicans to hear from him. Massie said he felt “great” about the outcome of the election.
“It was basically a rally in there,” he said.
Massie added his House colleagues should learn something from the election results.
“Trump's won the popular vote by a huge margin, and we barely have a majority in the House," Massie said. "I think the election was a referendum on Trump's agenda, and basically, the performance of the House. We have been terrible over the last four years, and we need to step up our game.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, who also won a new term on election night, is jockeying to become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“I like to say, everything we do here in the people's house affects people in their homes, so I understand that the cost of energy, what we're going to do with telecommunications,” Guthrie said. “We’re an energy state, so we understand the grid.”
Although some critics are raising questions about some of Trump’s cabinet picks, including his decision to nominate Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, Guthrie said he's confident Trump is assembling a qualified team.
Guthrie said he had already spoken with former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.