Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) announced during an interview with Breitbart News on Thursday his bid for Republican Study Committee (RSC) chairman, saying that with a Republican House and a future Donald Trump presidency, the “sky is the limit.”
“I’m excited to run and continue the great legacy that the RSC has been a part of over the last 50 years,” Cline told Breitbart News.
Cline aims to continue the legacy of RSC chairmen, such as current RSC chairman Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and former RSC chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), and many others who have led the predominant conservative caucus in the House Republican Conference.
The Virginia conservative, who currently serves on the RSC Steering Committee, aims to lead the caucus after the culmination of the 2024 presidential election, which would aim to help lead a potential President Donald Trump second administration to enact sweeping policy.
He continued, “I’m focused on policy and making sure that we advance strong conservative policies. That’s why I’m in RSC. And RSC is the lodestar. That’s, you know, that of policy for conservatives in Congress, and I want to make sure that when Trump gets elected president, that he has a great organization ready to help him advance conservative policies forward.”
“I’m very focused on fiscal responsibility, because that is one of the great challenges facing our nation right now. And as the Budget Chair of the Budget Task Force, we continue that process of balancing the budget, putting out a detailed balanced budget every year,” Cline explained. “My predecessors in this position were Chairman Kevin Hearn, and Chairman Jim Banks, Chairman Mike Johnson, now Speaker Mike Johnson. This position helps to prepare you for that process of building coalitions behind conservative policies and advancing those policies forward.”
Cline has also led the fight to rein in warrantless government surveillance. During House Appropriations Committee hearings, he has pressed Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz over the FBI’s purchase of Americans’ private data.
WATCH — Rep. Ben Cline Presses DOJ IG Horowitz over FBI Buying American Metadata:
House Appropriations Committee / YouTubeThe Virginia congressman also grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland about the federal government purchasing Americans’ data without a warrant.
WATCH — Rep. Ben Cline Grills AG Merrick Garland over FBI Buying Americans’ Private Data:
House Appropriations Committee / YouTubeThis controversial practice, often referred to the as the data broker loophole, became a focal point during the fight to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
As long as FISA Section 702 allows our intelligence agencies to spy on American citizens without a warrant, I vote NO.
Posted by Congressman Ben Cline on Friday, April 12, 2024
Cline said that reining in the intelligence community and having a “solid plan” to reform spy powers will be in place for the next fight to reauthorize FISA, which would expire in April 2025.
He explained, “This would not be the first time that we’ve heard of the need to reorganize our intelligence agencies, and Donald Trump has made that point. So we look forward to making that a top priority in the RSC and so that there is a solid plan in place; that it’s well thought out, that it involves our intelligence agencies, because our RSC does include several Intel members, and so making sure that we reform this, the intelligence agencies, in a way that protects citizens first and their constitutional rights as well as the country and our national security.”
Cline said that he hopes to continue talking with fellow RSC members to build a coalition and empower every member. He said that with Trump as president, the “sky is the limit.”
“I’m excited to be in the RSC, and have realized over the last several years what an effective group this can be, and the sky’s the limit with regard to what RSC can accomplish in a future Republican Congress with Donald Trump as president,” Cline said. “I’m excited about it and anxious to, you know, I’ve talked to over half of the members of RSC already, and I’ll continue to sit down and have lengthy conversations with my colleagues, because I don’t want to just buttonhole them in a corner to see if I can get their support. I want to sit down and listen to them, and those conversations take time. So that’s why I’m starting so early. That’s why, over the next six months, we’re going to be working to listen as much as we are talking to members.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
