We tend to think about congressional oversight in very academic terms — checks and balances, the Framers, etc. But what does it actually look like on the ground in Congress? To find out, we're talking this week with Charlie Dent, who served Congress for more than a decade until his retirement in 2018. He argues that amid all the talk about subpoenas, impeachment, and what Congress is not able to do, we're losing sight of the things they can do to hold the executive branch accountable.
Dent is a lifelong Republican, but one that does not fit in with the direction the party's taken under Donald Trump. We talk with him about why so few Republicans are willing to speak out against the Preisdent, and what the party's post-Trump future might look like. He also talks about the difference between separation of parties and separation of powers — and where he thinks we are right now.
Dent was the chair of the House Ethics Committee and a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations committees. These days, he is a CNN political analyst and senior policy adviser at DLA Piper.
