Dentist Drew Ferguson was sworn in Tuesday as the newest member of Georgia’s congressional delegation, taking the west Georgia seat held by fellow Republican Lynn Westmoreland for more than a decade.
Ferguson emerged out of a crowded seven-man primary earlier this spring and consolidated the support of business-oriented Republicans, including the retiring Westmoreland, in an expensive and bitterly contested GOP runoff against state Sen. Mike Crane that became a proxy battle for control of the party. He cruised to victory against Democrat Angela Pendley in November in the safely Republican 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from Peachtree City to the northern suburbs of Columbus.
The former mayor of West Point, Ferguson used the uplifting story of his hometown’s economic turnaround as a main tenet of his campaign. Ferguson came on board as mayor in 2008, shortly after the ink had dried on a massive deal with Kia that brought thousands of jobs to the area.
In Washington, Ferguson said he plans to focus on advancing economic policies that would provide incentives for businesses to create jobs. High on his to-do list is an overhaul of the tax code and the paring of federal regulations. He’d also like to see new investment in the country’s infrastructure.
“The things that we know that industry needs: No. 1, they’ve got to have a favorable tax environment,” Ferguson said in an interview Tuesday. “That is something that as we look at comprehensive tax reform we’re going to stay laser-focused on that.”
Ferguson previously voiced support for a flat tax system. He’s also pledged to sign onto a constitutional amendment instituting term limits for members of Congress.
When it comes to gun rights, national defense and diplomacy, Ferguson largely falls in line with the Republican orthodoxy. He’s advocated for stemming the flow of “unvetted refugees” from Syria, bolstering defense spending and rejecting the Iran nuclear deal.
Even before Ferguson was officially sworn in as a member of Congress, the Republican got his first taste of the Capitol Hill spotlight: He was one of 119 Republicans to privately back a rules change that would have put new restrictions on the Office of Congressional Ethics, a quasi-independent ethics watchdog on Capitol Hill.
The House GOP later removed the language after an outcry of public criticism, including from President-elect Donald Trump, but Ferguson said the status quo denies members of Congress their right to due process.
“What that vote was about was taking a government entity that had no congressional oversight that we’ve spent millions of dollars on and quite candidly have seen very little out of,” Ferguson said. He added that he would rather provide more resources to the House Ethics Committee.
Otherwise, Ferguson spent his first day on Capitol Hill going through a blur of ceremonies. The day began with a bipartisan prayer service, followed by a vote for House speaker and being officially sworn in as a member of Congress.
Like his predecessor, Ferguson said he plans to live in his office when Congress is in session and commute home on the weekends. He said he’s been genuinely impressed meeting with Georgia colleagues from both parties, but not to ask what exactly his niche will be in the delegation.
“I’m still trying to find the pencils in my desk,” he said. “I don’t even know if I’ve got pencils in my desk yet.”
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