Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: The Conversation with Dasha Burns
Episode: Rep. Tom Cole’s cigar diplomacy to secure Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid
Description: After months of delay, this week House Speaker Mike Johnson advanced his much awaited version of the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan foreign aid package.Standing between that legislation and the House floor: two very powerful committees. First, the House Appropriations Committee, which controls about a third of federal spending. And second, the Rules Committee, which controls access to the House floor, and which has become a problem for GOP leaders in this Congress.Johnson needed to pick the lock on both of these committees. And there is one Member of Congress who has c...