Rob Woodall on Why He Supports Donald Trump (And a Lot More)

Georgia Seventh District Congressman Rob Woodall, who reporesents portions of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties, was one of the last to announce his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. At the Republican National Convention last week, Woodall was on a roundtable that discussed the middle class and its role in the presidential election. The roundtable, sponsored by Real Clear Politics and the Credit Union National Association, featured a half hour interview with Woodall that covered everything from the minimum wage, to earmarks, and more.

While the whole half hour interview is worth watching, beginning at roughly 8:30, Woodall discussed Donald Trump’s candidacy, and was specifically asked if he was for Trump now.

“The answer is absolutely yes. And, it’s an easy question.” Woodall explained that he had recently been at a session with Trump where the candidate told those in attendance to be happy and positive. “There’s a lot of truth to that,” Woodall said. “Folks come out, they’re wringing their hands, they’re ‘Oh, well, there’s this, and there’s that.'” Woodall pointed out that there are two realistic options for president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and that if you want to vote for Clinton, be proud of it. “But,” Woodall admonished, “there’s one other choice.”

One advantage of a Trump presidency would be an opportunity to reset the balance between the executive and legislative branches of government. Woodall pointed out that in a Mitt Romney presidency, Democrats would attack him, and Republicans would defend him. The shoe has been on the other foot with President Obama, with Republicans attacking and Democrats supporting.

“Donald Trump has no Capitol Hill constituency,” Woodall pointed out. “If we ever have Donald Trump, he is so going to upset the apple cart of traditional politics, for the first time in my lifetime, we might have members of Congress defending the Constitution, being Article I, doing oversight over the president irreespective of his or her party, rather than being the cheerleader of the president that is the leader of their party.”

Congressman Woodall was asked if Trump, being an independent president, would be able to do deals with members of either party, similar to the atmosphere of the 20th century, when Sam Rayburn and Dwight Eisenhower got together over drinks.

“I think there’s a real possibility,” Woodall responded. “He is a deal maker, and deal making, like earmarks, has taken on a dirty word. Us cutting a deal means I think I’m getting the better end of it and you think you’re getting the better end of it, and so we’ve sealed it. That seems like a win to me. If I come to you and get 50% of what my constituents want, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost on the other 50%. It just means I have to saddle up again tomorrow and try to get the rest of the 50%.”

Woodall brought up a hypothetical action by a President Trump in which he ordered that Muslims could not enter the United States, which Woodall says is unconstitutional. The House would pass a bill preventing funds from being used to to that. If President Trump vetoed the bill, the House and Senate would override the veto in a show of Article I power. “Our job is to pass laws, and the president’s job is implement the laws,” the congressman pointed out. “We have not had an opportunity in my lifetime to restore that balance like we do with Donald Trump.”