Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is an American politician and former educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2003. A Republican, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1988 to 1991 and as the 26th secretary of state of Oklahoma from 1995 to 1999. An enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, Cole is the longest-serving Native American in the history of Congress. On April 10, 2024, Cole was elected chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
Early life, education, and academic career
Cole was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the son of John D. Cole and Helen Te Ata (née Gale); the latter was the first Native American elected to the Oklahoma Senate. Cole is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. Cole has said that a great-aunt of his was the Native American storyteller Te Ata. Cole resigned from Keating's administration when asked to become chief of staff to the Republican National Committee. Cole served in that role from 1999 to 2001.
In 2026, Cole faces a primary challenge from former marketing and newspaper employee Marcie Everhart.
Tenure
Following the 2006 election cycle, the members of the House Republican Conference elected Cole to the post of NRCC chairman, placing him in charge of national efforts to assist Republican candidates for Congress.
Cole has established a conservative voting record in the House. He has consistently voted anti-abortion and for gun rights. He holds pro-business views and supports free trade, the military, and veterans. Another one of his priorities is educating other members of Congress on American Indian issues. He favors loosening immigration restrictions and imposing stricter limits on campaign funds. In 2012, he sponsored H.R. 5912, which would prohibit public funds from being used for political party conventions. This legislation passed the House in September, but died in the Senate. During his tenure, Cole has been a leading voice for strengthening protections for Native American women under the Violence Against Women Act.
As chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, Cole was responsible for introducing the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 4487; 113th Congress). The bill would appropriate $3.3 billion to the legislative branch for FY 2015, about the same amount it received in FY 2014. According to Cole, the bill meets its goals "in both an effective and efficient manner, and has done so in a genuinely bipartisan, inclusive and deliberative fashion."
In 2013, Cole introduced the Home School Equity Act for Tax Relief. The bill would allow some homeschool parents to take tax credits for purchasing classroom materials.
Cole expressed his intention in 2018 to push his Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act into the spending bill as an omnibus. The bill would "make clear that the National Labor Relations Board has no jurisdiction over businesses owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on tribal land."
On April 10, 2024, Cole was elected chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
2016 House speakership election
In the contest for House Speaker that followed the resignation of John Boehner, Cole supported the claims of Paul Ryan, saying:
"Anyone who attacks Paul Ryan as being insufficiently conservative is either woefully misinformed or maliciously destructive. . . . Paul Ryan has played a major role in advancing the conservative cause and creating the Republican House majority. His critics are not true conservatives. They are radical populists who neither understand nor accept the institutions, procedures, and traditions that are the basis of constitutional governance."
Political positions
Cole supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
In January 2021, Cole voted against the certification of the Electoral College results in the 2020 presidential election. He subsequently voluntarily gave up an honorary degree from Grinnell College. In May 2021, Cole voted against the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection.
In 2021, Cole joined a majority of Republican representatives in signing onto an amicus brief to overturn Roe v. Wade. Following the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe in June 2022, Cole celebrated the outcome, saying in part "not only is this a monumental win for states’ rights, but also the rights of unborn children."
Cole voted to provide Israel with support following October 7 attacks.
Iraq
In June 2021, Cole was one of forty-nine House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.
Big Tech
In 2022, Cole was one of thirty-nine Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.
Committee memberships
- Committee on Appropriations (chair). He is the first Native American and the first Oklahoman to be chair of this committee.
- Republican Study Committee
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 2002–2024
!|Year
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
|-
|2002
|
| |Tom Cole
| align="right" |106,452
| |53.83%
|
| |
| align="right" |91,322
| |46.17%
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2004
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |198,985
| |77.77%
|
| |(no candidate)
| align="right" |
| |
|
| |Charlene K. Bradshaw
| |Independent
| align="right" |56,869
| align="right" |22.23%
|-
|2006
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |118,266
| |64.61%
|
| |Hal Spake
| align="right" |64,775
| |35.39%
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2008
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |180,080
| |66.02%
|
| |Blake Cummings
| align="right" |79,674
| |29.21%
|
| |David E. Joyce
| |Independent
| align="right" |13,027
| align="right" |4.78%
|-
|2010*
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |32,589
| |77.26%
|
| |(no candidate)
| align="right" |
| |
|
| |RJ Harris
| |Republican
| align="right" |9,593
| align="right" |22.74%
|-
|2012
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |176,561
| |67.89%
|
| |Donna Marie Bebo
| align="right" |71,155
| |27.60%
|
| |RJ Harris
| |Independent
| align="right" |11,725
| align="right" |4.51%
|-
|2014
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |117,721
| |70.80%
|
| |Bert Smith
| align="right" |40,998
| |24.66%
|
| |Dennis B. Johnson
| |Independent
| align="right" |7,549
| align="right" |4.54%
|-
|2016
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |203,942
| |69.64%
|
| |Christina Owen
| align="right" |76,308
| |26.08%
|
| |Sevier White
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |12,548
| align="right" |4.28%
|-
|2018
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| align="right" |149,127
| |63.07%
|
| |Mary Brannon
| align="right" |78,022
| |33.00%
|
| |Ruby Peters
| |Independent
| align="right" |9,310
| align="right" |3.94%
|-
|2020
|
| | Tom Cole (incumbent)
| | 213,096
| | 67.80%
|
| | Mary Brannon
| | 90,459
| | 28.80%
|
| | Bob White
| |Libertarian
| | 10,803
| | 3.40%
|-
|2022
|
| | Tom Cole (incumbent)
| | 149,879
| | 66.75%
|
| | Mary Brannon
| | 74,667
| | 33.25%
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2024
|
| |Tom Cole (incumbent)
| |199,962
| |65.25%
|
| |Mary Brannon
| |86,641
| |28.27%
|
| |James Stacy
| |Independent
| |19,870
| |6.48%
|-
|}
- In 2010, no Democrat or independent candidate filed to run in OK-4. The results printed here are from the Republican primary, where the election was decided.
Personal life
Cole and his wife, Ellen, have one son.
He is featured in the play Sliver of a Full Moon by Mary Kathryn Nagle for his role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013.
See also
- List of Native Americans in the United States Congress
- List of Native American politicians
References
External links
- Congressman Tom Cole official U.S. House website
- Tom Cole for Congress
- Biography and Videos – Chickasaw.TV
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