USA TODAY International Edition
Chris Coons, the GOP whisperer
Delaware Democrat’s centrism proves useful
WASHINGTON – Democratic Sen. Chris Coons once dodged elephants in Mozambique with GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. He lunched with Ivanka Trump. And he helped pass legislation Wednesday by partnering with GOP Sen. Bob Corker and the ultra-conservative Rep. Ted Yoho, a member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. Amid the partisan grandstanding and noise on Capitol Hill, Coons’ wonky, soft-spoken approach is unusual – and he seems to have colleagues’ ear. That’s why it’s no surprise to those who know Coons that he was in the middle of the Senate’s singular bipartisan moment during the spectacle that was Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. Progressives want him to take a harder line with Republicans. But Coons’ history of bipartisanship allowed him to strike an agreement with Flake on the Senate Judiciary Committee, leading to an FBI investigation of sexual misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh from high school and college. Coons got an investigation Democrats wanted; Flake got a weeklong limitation. “Ever since I’ve known Chris, he’s always been in the middle of everything,” said his friend Sen. Johnny Isakson, RGa., who serves with him on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on Africa. Coons, a Delaware Democrat, is a onetime college Republican who has made a point of building relationships across the aisle, through travel, prayer meetings and work on legislation. “We’ve been through a lot,” said Flake, R-Ariz., describing the trust he’s developed with Coons, while speaking with him at a forum Monday. Along with serving on Judiciary, the two have traveled together as members of that Africa subcommittee, which led to their close call in an open-back Jeep with the charging elephants. “That’s how compromises are possible. And there’s less and less of that going on,” Flake said. The two senators may have had different takes on the FBI report Thursday, but Coons said he can live with that. “Senators are now in a better position to reach conclusions than they were a week ago,” Coons told reporters. “And I think we demonstrated that through a relationship built on travel and bipartisanship and legislating, you could accomplish at least that much.” There’s a reason Coons seems to speak Republican: “I would say it’s my mother tongue,” he joked during an interview in his office with USA TODAY. Coons once described himself, during his early years at Amherst College, as “sort of an Alex P. Keaton,” the fictional, Ronald Reagan-loving teenager from the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.” “George Will was one of my heroes when I was an undergraduate,” he said. His political conversion came after he grew disillusioned with U.S. policy in South Africa and was exposed to extreme poverty while studying in Kenya. Within a year of founding a college Republican group, he was arguing the Democratic side in a debate and setting a new life course. After Amherst, Coons volunteered for relief efforts in South Africa and later advocated for the homeless while at Yale University, from which he graduated in 1992 with ethics and law degrees. Coons got to know Isakson through committee work, prayer breakfasts and travel to Africa. Both from poultry-producing states, they worked together to fight South African duties on U.S. chicken exports. Earlier this year, Coons made headlines when he changed his committee vote from “no” to “present” on Mike Pompeo’s nomination for secretary of state, to spare Isakson from having to rush back from a funeral to vote in favor. The pairing didn’t change the final outcome of the committee vote, and Coons opposed Pompeo on the Senate floor. But the kind gesture toward Isakson left Corker praising Coons’ “statesmanship” – and fighting back tears. “He came here to make a difference; he wants to solve problems,” Corker said of Coons. Their measure to promote economic growth in developing countries passed the Senate on Wednesday. “So, yes, many Republicans seek after him when they want to work on a they want to see go into law.” The Corker-Coons measure was drafted in close consultation with the White House – including adviser Ivanka Trump. A White House official confirmed she and Coons have met multiple times to discuss bipartisan legislation. Coons also co-sponsored a bill she is promoting to help female entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Coons was first elected in 2010 to fill the Senate seat Vice President Joe Biden held for 36 years. His state has long valued bipartisanship. Delaware politicians have a tradition of riding together in a parade and burying a hatchet in a box of sand after an election. After his Sept. 28 compromise with Flake, he returned home to a standing ovation at a town hall meeting, and some criticism. A woman who identified herself as a former U.S. attorney told him she didn’t believe an investigation could be done in one week. “The alternative to having one week was no week,” he replied. Progressives have attacked Coons’ moderate approach. He was the first senator the Progressive Change Campaign Committee targeted last year with a barrage calls to his office when they believed he didn’t take a tough enough stance against then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch during a series of media interviews. Coons ultimately opposed Gorsuch’s confirmation, as he did Kavanaugh’s. Coons has grown increasingly critical of his party’s leftward shift, arguing an ultra-liberal agenda will damage Democrats’ prospects. At a centrist strategy session in July, he dismissed ideas such as free college and guaranteed jobs for all as “wild-eyed” proposals. To those who say he should push back harder against Republicans, Coons asks, “to what end?” Coons said his votes, speeches and actions reflect core Democratic principles, but it can’t be the case that he’ll never work with Republicans or compliment Trump if he gets something right. “If that’s the rule, then we’ll never get anything done,” he said.