There’s a smoking hot issue taking up the minds of House Republicans of late—and no, it’s not the cost of living, or your healthcare. According to Axios, the Rep. Tom Cole’s move (R-OK) to the House Appropriations Committee has left GOP lawmakers without a space to smoke their cigars. Now, they want House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to get involved. Cole told Axios the “hideaway” his Capitol office once provided was a hub for lawmakers to connect and bond about policy over cigars. After taking over Cole’s old office, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), a physician, snuffed the cigar tradition. “We’re trying to work on finding the place — the Rules office was a great place, but I’m not Rules chairman anymore,” Cole told Axios. Other GOP members have since pointed to the ceremonial balcony as an alternative “smoking porch,” though Johnson would need to approve the measure. Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), joked to Axios that “Plan D or E” might be to “smoke in in Mike Johnson’s office,” adding that with his cigars and supplied alcohol, “we’re just going to sit in his office, light up and not leave until Tom Cole gets a hideaway.”
