In The News

Congress is dealing with many issues right now, including the California fires, the national debt, and the confirmation of Donald Trump’s Cabinet members. Republican Congressman Scott Perry weighed in on those issues.

Congressman Perry does not blame Mother Nature for the wildfires, and instead is calling California’s water and forest management policies a “radical climate agenda.”

“Look, this is a man-made disaster, born from poor decision-making, poor leadership, and decisions that actually reflect a political ideology as opposed to a solution to the problem,” Perry said. “So it concerns me that all of America keeps having to foot the bill for these continual annual wildfires in California.”

Perry is consistent with his stance on government spending, as he previously did not support federal money going to the collapsed Baltimore bridge, arguing it is a toll road and insured.

“We simply don’t have the money for it and it shouldn’t be our policy,” Perry said. “If you own the bridge, you take care of the bridge. It’s pretty simple.”

Perry is a member of the Conservative Freedom Caucus, who reluctantly voted for Mike Johnson as Speaker of the U.S. House, but Perry says Johnson is on a short leash. Whether Perry is empathetic to anyone trying to lead the splintered GOP conference remains to be seen.

“It’s tough to manage, that’s for sure,” Perry said. “But the Speaker wanted the job. He put his hand up and said, ‘Put me in.’ That’s not a job that I want, but he wanted it.”

When asked about Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s allegations of personal misconduct and lack of qualifications, Perry was not troubled.

President-elect Trump will inaugurated next Monday.