Tag: American Conservative Union

The Story: Due to a quirk of history, each of Georgia's two seats in the US Senate is up for grabs this year. The more...

The Story: Senator Johnny Isakson (R - Ga), who has represented Georgia in the US Senate since January 2005, announced last week that due to...

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union – the country's oldest conservative lobbying organization – discussed the Mueller investigation, the Koch brothers’ refusal to endorse a prominent Republican senatorial candidate, and the GOP’s challenge recruiting women to run for office on ABC's Powerhouse Politics podcast. Shortly before the Wednesday taping, President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end the special counsel investigation – from which Sessions has recused himself – with a tweet that quickly sparked debate about whether Trump's comment constituted obstruction of justice. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018 Asked whether it's appropriate for Trump to weigh in on the ongoing investigation, Schlapp said, “That’s the best way to move forward.” The ACU chairman insisted that the president should “actively manage” the Department of Justice probe. He suggested that Trump is aiming to apply a “stopwatch” to the investigation, “an end time when they have to simply say what they have in mind.” As for Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to investigate matters related to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, Schlapp said, “the politics of this investigation are really getting away from him.” ABC's Political Director Rick Klein pointed out that Mueller has not weighed in on the politics of the probe, despite repeated attacks from the president. Schlapp acknowledged that the GOP has a problem recruiting women to run, saying, “You have to have a welcome mat, and you have to be encouraging.” He said that, conversely, Democrats struggle to attract men. “They have unwritten codes of, ‘well we really hold this for an African American member, we’re holding this for a female member or a diverse member,’ and we don’t tend to do that in the Republican party, and I actually think that’s better,” he said. Schlapp, who noted that he was previously employed by Koch Industries, also weighed in on the Koch brothers’ recent decision, announced Monday, not to back Rep. Kevin Cramer, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota. Still, Schlapp is optimistic about the midterms, saying he believes strong economic growth will likely prevent Democrats from taking back the House. He acknowledged that a Democrat-controlled Congress would be a major problem, saying he thinks Democrats would move quickly to impeach the president.