Democratic lawmaker warns party against going 'DEFCON 5' on everything Trump does

"I don't think that it's been very effective, the Dem response, so far. In fact, I'm frustrated by it. If you make everything DEFCON 5, then eventually nothing is DEFCON 5. You know what I mean? And on questions of overreach of constitutional authority, it's not always so cut and dry," Golden said. 

The Washington Post asked Golden if Democrats should be more "discerning with their outrage."

"I'm not going to react instantaneously to everything the president says. I'm going to be paying attention to what the president does. And when it comes to the conflict between Israel and Gaza, what I'm interested in seeing him doing is bringing home the hostages, particularly the remaining American hostages," he responded. 

Golden reiterated that he would review Trump's actions, not his words, and see if they undermine American interests.

"On issues having to do with securing our border, with energy - I'm really in the camp of all-of-the-above energy approach for American energy independence and security and defense - there's a lot of room to work together," he told the Post.

"And on the tax side, it's a little more difficult for me to see space to be proactively involved, and that's because of my skepticism that they will generate a tax policy that is both good for growth, good for the American people - particularly middle-class people - and doesn't do great damage to our ever-increasing budget deficit and national debt. But, I mean, I'd love to be pleasantly surprised," he added. 

Golden noted he voted against two major bills in the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan and the Build Back Better bill.