Yes Virginia, There is a Speaker of the House

By: Paul A. Miller, legislative counsel, IOPFDA

When people in Washington say nothing is easy, they aren’t lying. Back in the day when I started out on Capitol Hill, you could work across the aisle without fear of retribution. You could compromise on issues and still be deemed a solid Republican or Democrat. Today, not so much.

Let’s go back in history a bit to show you what I mean. On November 11, 2009, then President Barack Obama traveled to Florida to highlight a $787 billion economic recovery plan which would bring additional money to the state in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Upon his arrival, President Obama was greeted with a hug by Governor Charlie Crist, a very popular Republican governor who at the time seemed like a shoo-in to become Florida’s next senator. But that hug cost Crist the chance to be senator (and possibly a viable candidate for the presidency of the United States) and propelled then candidate Marco Rubio into that role instead. All because Crist’s hug with the president was viewed by conservative Republicans as a sign that the guy had flipped and become too liberal for the party and the state. Not because of any of his policies, but because of a simple hug to thank the president for bringing additional funding to Florida after Ida had devasted the state. Before that hug, Crist was deemed untouchable in Florida. Today, he is viewed as a pariah.

This takes us to January 3, 2023 and the start of a new Congress. In “normal” times in Washington, the first day of the new session is more ceremonial than an occasion for real legislating or governing. It’s the day members are officially sworn in as members of Congress. It’s the day the rules governing Congress are voted on. It’s the day we are introduced to the new leaders on both sides of the aisle. But not this year. The year started with a rebellion within the Republican party about who should be elected speaker. While this battle raged, we went a week without a functioning government.

On one side, you had Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was making his third bid for speaker. This time, McCarthy had done everything he needed to lock up the speaker vote, except be able to trust certain members of his caucus. McCarthy can be credited with the Republican return to the majority in the House in 2023. For his part, McCarthy spent 2020-2022 wooing the far-right wing of his party. He spent that time courting President Trump. And he filled the campaign coffers of his entire caucus to the tune of $550 million. On the other side, you had the Freedom Caucus, who made it clear the past didn’t matter and they wanted more from McCarthy.

The Freedom Caucus, which had become irrelevant over the past couple years, quickly found its path back to relevance: withhold their support for McCarthy.

As the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” In McCarthy’s case, ballot 15 was the charm and his path to the speakership. For the first time in our nation’s history, it took Republicans 15 ballots to agree on who should be the next speaker of the House. In doing so, they may have weakened the position of the speaker in order to persuade a group of 20 Freedom Caucus members to go along. To some, this sounds like a party battle that is not uncommon. I’d say partly yes and partly no. Love her or hate her, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew how to run her caucus and keep the left wing of the party in check. Republicans have been unable to do that in recent times. Former Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner were both run out of town by the Freedom Caucus. Before that, Republicans had Rep. Dennis Hastert, who had the help and backing of former Rep. Tom DeLay and Rep. Dick Armey. These two made it possible for Hastert to become the longest-serving speaker in history. Back in the day, DeLay was called “The Hammer” and it wasn’t because he was keen on carpentry in his spare time. It’s because he ruled the caucus with an iron fist, and you didn’t cross him or the speaker. The same can be said for Pelosi. Since Hastert, there hasn’t been a Republican speaker who has known how to wield the gavel that way. Boehner and Ryan were weak leaders and lacked that “hammer” mentality. This will be the challenge McCarthy is confronted with from day one and the pending debt ceiling vote. Did he give away the store or did he create a new path forward for himself and the party? Time will tell very quickly.

Now that we have a speaker of the House, we will find out how effective he will be with all the concessions he had to make to get the job. Here are a few of the demands made by the Freedom Caucus:

• several seats on the important House Rules Committee;

• several seats on the House Appropriations Committee;

• a requirement that it only take one member to begin a vote on removing the speaker;

• a cut of $75 billion from the defense budget;

• a demand that the party not support challengers to incumbents;

• a promise for guaranteed votes on pet issues, like a balanced budget amendment, and term limits, a Texas border plan and an end to all remaining COVID-19 mandates and funding;

• a new committee to investigate the alleged weaponization of the FBI against its political foes. The committee would be modeled on the Church Committee, which investigated US intelligence agencies in 1975. It would have a budget comparable to the recently disbanded January 6 Committee;

• more single-subject bills to allow members to vote on specific, narrow issues instead of thousand-page pork barrel behemoths;

• a 72-hour window for members to read any new bill before it can be voted on; and

• a promise to refuse any increase in the debt ceiling in the next federal budget agreement.

All these demands could limit the speaker’s ability to move the caucus forward or even move their agenda forward. One of the strengths of the new speaker is his ability to work across all wings of the party. McCarthy will be challenged at every step and we will see very quickly if he can govern a caucus many believe has lost its way. It is a caucus that doesn’t remember what you did for them yesterday, but rather asks, “What can you do for us today, tomorrow and whenever we come calling?” This mentality poses a real threat to McCarthy and the party.

This is why IOPFDA’s voice in Washington is more crucial than ever. Getting things done in Washington just got a little more complicated. This isn’t a reason to shake your head or say, “Let’s fold up the tent and go home.” This is the time to invest even more in Washington. This month, Congress reopened to the people after its doors were closed for nearly three years. This month, IOPFDA will be front and center with the new speaker, the entire Republican leadership and most of the caucus for a ribbon-cutting ceremony welcoming people back into the buildings. This is an early opportunity for us to strengthen our voice in what is expected to be a whirlwind year of activity. With a lot of pressing industry issues, IOPFDA is using every avenue available to ensure it has a seat at the table.

Going forward, working Congress might require us to use DeLay-style tactics to get our way. We have to be prepared to play hardball, but also know when to play nice. This is a balancing act we will have to maneuver in this even more divided Congress. In the past, it was one side or the other we had to manage. This new brand of legislature means we now have to maneuver not only both parties, but each faction within each party. Complex? Yes. Frustrating? Absolutely. Doable? Heck yes!

IOPFDA will be hosting its annual fly-in this year on March 28-29 in Washington. We need to tell your story. We need to keep fighting for that seat at the table and not the leftover table scraps.

We hope you will join us! Buckle up: its going to be one wild ride heading into the 2024 presidential campaign. For more detail on how this year’s fly-in will operate, see page 32