Sometimes with these interviews with retiring lawmakers, Heard on the Hill tries to goad them into letting their colleagues know just what they really think about them before they go. It rarely works. These men and women are disciplined by nature, not electoral concerns, but sometimes they cut loose a little.
And then there’s John Yarmuth, the former alt-weekly columnist and retiring Kentucky Democrat who was more than happy to opine about the not-so-dear colleagues he’s departing from. The Budget Committee chairman is leaving on a number of high notes — he was the official House sponsor of Democrats’ pandemic relief bill in 2021 and the tax and climate change package signed into law this August. But when asked to think back on his time in Congress, this bourbon aficionado eschewed sepia-toned nostalgia to reflect on the institution with a gimlet eye.
“I still have great respect for the institution. And I think ultimately it will function more effectively … once we get this stench of MAGA world out of it,” he said.
