Rep. Tom Cole Says DOGE Is ‘Pretty Responsive’ to His Concerns
by Em Luetkemeyer, Oklahoma Watch March 25, 2025
Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole told constituents with concerns about government-slashing efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency that he’d been able to get it to change course when it set its sights on projects related to his district.
He said he’d been able to get results by flagging issues to DOGE like any other agency, adding that while it’s made some mistakes in its efforts to cut spending, it had reversed course in at least one instance when his office brought an issue to its attention.
“We’ve found, at least, if you work it just like you would any other government agency, they can be pretty responsive,” Cole said in his telephone town hall on Thursday.
He pointed to his staff working with DOGE to get a Social Security office in Lawton, Oklahoma, off of a list of terminated contracts — one of many that DOGE reversed course on. He also largely defended DOGE’s work.
“We think this is a bad decision,” Cole said his office told DOGE about potentially closing the Social Security office. “And [DOGE] relooked at it and they agreed so. But this is where members have to be pretty aggressive and engaged.”
The Atlantic reported Wednesday that Cole met with Elon Musk over cigars and bourbon and advised the Trump ally, who heads DOGE, to consult lawmakers before making cuts. Cole said Musk had committed to fixing any errors.
“So far,” Cole told the magazine, “I’ve found them to be good to their word.”
Cole, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is one of several lawmakers elected to represent areas that President Donald Trump won who have faced questions from constituents this week about DOGE and the Trump administration’s efforts to expand executive power.
During his hour-long town hall, the majority of questions Cole faced from constituents were DOGE-related. Callers who said they were from Oklahoma brought up potential cuts to programs like Social Security and Indian Health Service. They also laid out concerns about federal office closures and layoffs.
Though the event wasn’t in person, the largely calm conversations Cole had were a tone shift from recent town halls held by Republicans — some of which caught enough attention that they resulted in the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee advising representatives to stop hosting town halls in person. Now, while Congress is in recess, representatives on both sides of the aisle are catching heat from constituents.
Cole didn’t receive the same arguing, shouting and heckling as some of his colleagues. But, most callers were still worried about DOGE.
“I’m very concerned about Congress’s constitutional duties, that those are being taken over by DOGE,” one caller told Cole. “I would like to know what steps you’re willing to take to make sure that the constitutional duties of Congress remain with Congress, and not with the executive branch.”
Cole had a response ready.
“I try to do it by pretty aggressively defending congressional power,” Cole said. “I think there’s a lot of things out there that you hear that may or may not be true.”
He used the example of Tinker Air Force Base, located in Oklahoma, where rumored layoffs did not happen.
“We live in an extremely contentious time,” Cole said. “It’s a high degree of polarization and partisanship, but we also work together to get things done better than you may think. And so at the end of the day, I always just urge all of you to have confidence in the country’s institutions.”
This article first appeared on Oklahoma Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Sources consistently place two members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation, Kevin Hern and Markwayne Mullin, in the top 10% of all 535 members of Congress based on net worth.
Using personal financial disclosure reports from 2018, OpenSecrets ranked members of Congress by approximate net worth by adding each disclosed asset value range and subtracting the liability value range, placing Hern and Mullin at No. 12 and No. 45, respectively.
Quiver Quantitative, which uses live data on politicians’ stock portfolios made available through the STOCK Act, currently ranks Hern and Mullin at No.10 and No. 16, respectively.
Though OpenSecrets also includes data filed under the STOCK Act, which requires members of Congress to report all financial transactions after they occur, only Quiver Quantitative is regularly updated.
OpenSecrets estimated the 2018 net worths of Hern and Mullin to have been about $61 million and $11 million, respectively, while Quiver Quantitative has current estimates of $106.76 million and $65.04 million, respectively.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Oklahoma Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.
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SUMMARY: Severe storms are expected Friday evening into the overnight, with a level 2 risk for hail (up to 2 inches) and damaging winds (60-70 mph), though the tornado risk is low. Storms will begin with drizzle in eastern Oklahoma, followed by active thunderstorms, and watches will likely be issued for Oklahoma City by evening. Ongoing showers and thunderstorms will persist into Saturday morning, particularly in southern Oklahoma. Saturday’s risk includes larger hail and more storms in southeastern Oklahoma. Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane will provide updates on the timeline and weekend weather threats.
KOCO meteorologist Jonathan Conder says storms return Friday, he has the latest timeline.
SUMMARY: Severe storms are expected in two waves: one late Wednesday night and another Friday. Wednesday’s storms, with a low risk of isolated hail and 60 mph winds, will affect northern Oklahoma from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Friday’s storms are more widespread, with a level two risk, primarily for wind and hail, and a low tornado risk. The storms are expected to intensify by 10 p.m., with heavy rain and thunderstorms continuing into early Saturday. A break in storms may occur before redevelopment in southern Oklahoma. By Sunday afternoon, drier air will bring clear conditions for Easter plans.
KOCO 5 Meteorologist Jonathan Conder says after a warm and windy day, storms are possible tonight.
