BURSTRep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) says many House Republicans are “beholden” to President-elect Trump after getting his support during the 2024 election cycle, and that he will have a big influence on the House agenda next year.
Zinke, who served as secretary of the Interior in the first Trump administration, also warned that Trump will pay attention if any GOP lawmakers get "out of line" by stalling his agenda.
“What’s clear is, there’s not been a president, certainly in my lifetime, that has had more influence on the internal workings of the House. If you remember, a lot of House members relied on President Trump’s endorsement,” Zinke said Tuesday on “CNN This Morning.”
“And President Donald Trump got involved in a lot of these very close races. So, they’re beholden to him in a lot of ways, and in their political careers, and they pay attention to Donald Trump,” he told CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.
The Montana Republican argued Trump “will take notice” if any of the GOP House members present obstacles in passing his second-term agenda through Congress.
Zinke said that “if one of these guys gets out of line too far and begins to blow up the agenda and cause havoc within the House, I think Donald Trump will take notice because then we’re not getting things done and we’re not doing what we said we would do.”
During the 2024 U.S. election, Republicans were able to retain a slim majority in the lower chamber, capture the majority in the Senate and take the White House with Trump’s win over Vice President Harris.
Trump dished out endorsements to both House and Senate candidates while on the campaign trail, boosting both incumbents and those looking to secure their first term in federal office.
Zinke won his reelection race in the western Montana district. He fended off a challenge from Democrat Monica Tranel who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022.
“We said we would get the job done,” he said Tuesday. “That means move ahead at a lightning pace, according to, you know, what we can in the House. But again, it’s the agenda, the American first agenda. If we fall short of that, the American public is — should be upset. And, you know what, we need to pay attention.”