R-Ind. Rep. Marlin Stutzman has spent most of the past decade in Indiana, running a variety of businesses and coaching his son’s baseball team.
Before that, he had front row seats for most of the Obama administration, followed by the meteor and unprecedented rise of current President Donald Trump. Stutzmann was part of political history and was one of the original members of the House Freedom Caucus. It is a group that has come to be known as ideological conservative fortresses, and sometimes the mud around the house.
Now he has returned as one of several first-term Republicans.
However, according to Stutzman, who previously served in Congress from 2010 to 2017, he believes Republicans are more consistent with each other than before.
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Indiana Rep. Merlin Statzman served in Congress from 2010 to 2017 before returning to another term. (Getty Images)
“I feel that’s different. I don’t think GOP meetings are that far apart, like I’ve returned in 2010.
“I was watching membership in 2010, and there were real moderates. I think we’re actually much closer than we were back then, and of course, there’s a big challenge for us. There was. Having a majority is actually unified.”
He noted that the readjustment was readjusted by Trump, and that he and other Republicans were first elected in 2010 as a backlash against former President Barack Obama, rather than supporting the main party’s agenda.
“It was a reaction to Obama so we won the 2010 election. And in 2020, you could say that all elections are reactions to incumbent parties, but in this case, after the Biden era, I think the Americans were elected because Trump believed he could move the country forward,” Stottzmann said.
He was a statsman with former house speakers Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy in 2012. (Getty Images)
“And we have a leader who throws a vision and has his message clear, and it gives us the opportunity to unite behind his leadership.
He was also founded that the Free Caucus is “occlusist” to house GOP leaders despite being a member of a group that has previously led a well-known coup against senior Republicans. I challenged the concept.
“There are a lot of smart people who wanted to be part of a group that looks at things from all angles and is really productive, so I wanted to be part of that. Learn, I’m really diving deep, I’m the Caucus. We were able to speak through strategy, not only really understand the policy from other people and staff that were part of it,” he said.
“It was never designed to be a caucus of occlusionists. It definitely labeled it and was being criticized for it.
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Stutzmann believes President Trump has united Republicans. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Stutzmann said being a private citizen who has been running the business for eight years gives us a sense of the value of building a consensus and will be able to return to Congress with an emphasis on the “big picture.”
“You never get everything you want. You know, you find ways to support your team, and find ways to support us in Jesus,” the statsman replied.
“Look now, there are times when you just say no, and that’s just a part of the negotiation. But I think the main thing is to just fight hard, provide everything you have. That’s what I mean. After we win, we move on to the next battle.”
