Rep. Tom Cole wants to strike while the iron is hot and keep next week’s scheduled vote on track to fill the vacant House Appropriations chairman position, arguing there’s no time to waste as lawmakers are already behind schedule on next year’s spending bills.
Cole’s potential rival for the job, Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, R-Ala., sent a letter to colleagues Wednesday seeking to delay the vote, which the Steering Committee is set to hold Tuesday with ratification by the full Republican Conference the following day. Aderholt said the appropriations process is broken and the conference must discuss changes before picking a new chairman.
“We don’t have a lot of time to delay. We’re already way behind the [fiscal 2025] timelines, I would argue, let’s just have the election now,” Cole, R-Okla., said in an interview Wednesday. “Whoever wins, wins. And let’s let them get down to business.”
