Pleased Latest 12 months! The House of Representatives is ringing in 2023 with an episode of administrative dysfunction unseen since before the Civil War.
When the brand new Congress convened on Jan. 3, the House’s first task was to elect a speaker. By the tip of the week, to the frustration of Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), a hard-right minority was denying Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) the votes to ascend to the speakership, while Nevada’s Democrats looked on with a combination of schadenfreude and alarm.
Lawmakers also commemorated the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The marathon speaker vote
On Tuesday, House members of the 118th Congress gathered for the primary time. The primary item on their agenda? The election of a speaker to guide the body, then the passage of a rules package to manipulate the chamber for the subsequent two years, after which the swearing-in of members.
Members mingled prefer it was the primary day of faculty. Lawmakers’ children accompanied them to the chambers, with spouses, parents and siblings readily available for photos on the swearing-in. Latest members began to learn their way across the chamber and gave interviews to the press.
Once they filed into the chamber, members of every party nominated their elected leaders – McCarthy, the brand new longtime majority leader, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the brand new minority leader. As expected, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus rose to nominate Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a former chairman of the group, to the best role within the House.
For the primary time in over 100 years, the leader of the bulk party couldn’t get to 218 votes, the vast majority of the chamber needed to change into Speaker. After which it happened again. And again. And again after that.
When the dust had settled within the early hours of Saturday morning, McCarthy had finally won the speaker vote, 216-211, with the six holdouts voting present, lowering the brink of votes needed to secure a majority. It took 14 failed ballots to get there, with Republican members nearly coming to blows on the last failed vote.
Lawmakers’ members of the family had long since gone home, and the freshman retreat for brand new members had been canceled. The House remained speaker-less and rule-less, in an indication of dysfunction so profound that the considered this House majority governing, much less establishing the chamber, seemed ill-fated.
But after midnight on Saturday, House Republicans finally got their wish. Amodei described the mood as “a relaxed calm after the Storm” over text.
McCarthy is working with a 222-212 majority – the identical variety of majority members former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Democrats began with in 2021.
Amodei, Nevada’s lone Republican within the House, voted for McCarthy every time.
“No one thought this was a primary ballot proposition,” Amodei (R-NV) told me over text on Tuesday afternoon. “The dynamic is that 90 percent of the [House GOP] is just not good with 10 percent telling them no.”
Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford voted for Jeffries on every ballot, as did the complete Democratic caucus.
Despite negotiations since Republicans won the 2022 midterms within the House in November, McCarthy, who has been chasing the speakership since 2015, when he was first derailed by the House Freedom Caucus, knew that the speakership was not locked up on Tuesday.
Publicly, five members had dubbed themselves “Never Kevin,” and a further group had made demands of the embattled leader, including Freedom Caucus representation on the influential Rules Committee, command of essential subcommittee gavels, and a one-member threshold for triggering a motion to vacate the speaker.
McCarthy gave in to most demands, but 20 members still held out against him, voting for others including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). By Wednesday and into Thursday, the group had grown to 21.
“Recounts never appear to work out for Republicans,” Titus mused on Twitter.
But on Thursday night, the outlines of a deal between McCarthy and hardliners emerged — and the negotiating paid off on Friday, when 15 of the prior 21 flipped to vote for the Bakersfield Republican. But with McCarthy still 4 votes in need of the gavel, the House adjourned until 10 p.m. Friday night, as negotiators continued their work.
Once they returned, he fell one vote in need of the whole needed after a tense moment during which Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) voted “present.” The House momentarily fell into chaos, as Republicans negotiated with Gaetz live, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) lunged at him and needed to be held back, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) appeared to call Donald Trump on her cellphone to talk with holdouts. But on the subsequent ballot, McCarthy emerged victorious.
The six holdouts were Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-GA), Bob Good (R-GA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Rep-elect. Eli Crane (R-AZ).
The concessions reported include the one-vote motion to vacate threshold, which could severely limit McCarthy’s ability to manipulate the caucus provided that he could see constant threats to his leadership; open amendments, which permit any member to propose and receive a vote on a spending bill; a 72-hour rule requiring bills are posted 72 hours before they arrive up for a vote, a vote on a term limits bill, and an apparent spending agreement, which incorporates committing to proposing a balanced budget over 10 years, and freezing spending at FY2022 levels (which might necessitate significant spending cuts across the budget), as a way to balance the budget.
Such an agreement would likely arrange intra-party showdowns over defense spending, which national security and defense hawks within the party need to increase, and over the debt limit, which should be raised or suspended by Sept. 30 lest Congress trigger a default. It might also put the House in direct opposition to the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, establishing enormous spending battles and raising the danger of presidency shutdowns.
It was spending bills that ended former Speaker John Boehner’s profession in 2015. The Ohio Republican needed to work with Democrats to pass appropriations bills and avoid (further) government shutdowns, losing the support of the Freedom Caucus and the speakership in the method.
In texts, Amodei, though clearly frustrated with the hard-liners, said the concessions to supply open amendments, bring back the one member motion to vacate, and provides the Freedom Caucus greater committee representation were OK with him. Open amendments, he said, would “let the ground be transparent and permit it to be more fully functional.”
Initially, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) had said he was demanding McCarthy shut the federal government down fairly than raise the debt ceiling – though he has since walked that back, provided that not meeting the deadline would result in default fairly than a shutdown, and said he meant a commitment to spending cuts.
“Bless Ralph,” Amodei said in a text Thursday. “I look ahead to that vote [on the debt limit], and all of the transparency it deserves. I do nevertheless find it ironic that a member of a deliberative body wants a commitment from a single (speaker) member with no process.”
On Friday night, he added that not one of the concessions McCarthy had made concerned him, and that they were value it as a way to move forward.
House Democrats, meanwhile, began the week promoting themselves because the party in unison, watching Republicans flounder: “Grab your popcorn,” Lee told me on Tuesday. Several posted memes poking fun on the lengthy process, cheered loudly for Jeffries during votes, and laughed during Republican nominating speeches. But because the week has dragged on, frustration has begun to mount as well.
“Their disorder is yet one more indication that they aren’t serious about governing for on a regular basis Americans,” Horsford said in a Twitter video Wednesday. “The American people cannot wait any longer. We want to get back to work.”
And Lee, who touts her bipartisan credentials regularly, said in a Thursday Twitter video that McCarthy’s willingness to offer up anything for power was hurting the country.
“I’m not sitting there smiling,” Lee said. “I’m sitting there apprehensive for the long run of this country, and willing to work with Republicans once they reveal that they will work with themselves.”
In theory, some House Democrats could have voted present or not voted to bring the brink down, delivering McCarthy the votes. And McCarthy, as an alternative of negotiating with the far-right, could have worked with Democrats to get the crucial support in exchange for some measure of power sharing, comparable to more committee seats for Democrats. But either of those scenarios would have required McCarthy or Jeffries, who don’t have any relationship, to trust each other – and potential ire from each of their bases. Democrats, Lee told me, had no real interest in bailing Republicans out from a situation they imagine McCarthy invited upon himself. “They’ll work out their very own mess,” she said.
The speaker election, besides holding up the House’s ability to debate and pass any laws, had also left members in limbo provided that they had not officially been sworn in. Several representatives-elect have said they’re unable to process casework for his or her constituents because federal agencies won’t work with them – or provide classified information – until they’re officially sworn in.
Spokespeople for Horsford and Lee said their offices have been in a position to proceed with casework. But Lee’s office said the IRS told caseworkers that their ability to receive updates on constituents’ cases is restricted, and that staffers are apprehensive that if this drags on past Jan. 13, congressional payday, committee staffers can’t be paid and caseworkers may run into challenges working with Social Security, Medicaid, and others, if no rules package has been adopted.
With the Speaker now in place and members sworn in, all offices will have the opportunity to process casework.
The Senate, meanwhile, elected Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as majority leader and minority leader, respectively, late last 12 months, with little drama and no trouble.
A re-introduction to Nevada’s House delegation
Members of the House are still waiting to be sworn into office, but I figured the beginning of a recent term was an ideal opportunity to remind readers of who our members of Congress are, how long they’ve been here, and the way they’ve voted in that point. Let’s dive in.
Rep. Dina Titus
The dean of the delegation (meaning the longest-serving member), Titus served her first time in 2009, and, after a term on the sidelines, has served concurrently since 2013.
Geography: Titus’ district encompasses most of Las Vegas, including the Strip, in addition to Henderson and Boulder City.
Variety of terms: Seven (currently)
Before Congress: Professor of political science at UNLV and longtime Nevada Senate minority leader
Age: 72
Committee assignments: Titus has spent her entire tenure in Congress on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, amongst other assignments. If the House ever gets organized, she could change into the rating member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, as considered one of its longest-tenured members.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Titus has a rating of -0.304, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes Titus considered one of the more moderate Democrats up to now Congress. During the last two years, she voted with the Democrats 99 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Titus ranks 132nd within the House for 2021, putting her in the highest one-third.
Notable causes: Gun violence prevention, nuclear energy, disaster response, wild horse protection
Fun fact: Titus literally wrote the book on American atomic policy.
Rep. Mark Amodei
The Nevada delegation’s lone Republican, Amodei joined the lower chamber in 2011 as Northern Nevada’s representative.
Geography: Amodei’s district includes all of Northern Nevada, including Reno and Carson City.
Variety of terms: Seven (currently)
Before Congress: Longtime member of the Nevada State Senate, lawyer, and president of the Nevada Mining Association
Age: 64
Committee assignments: Amodei is a long-standing member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, where he’ll legislate in the bulk when (if?) Republicans organize the House. He uses his perch on the committee to give attention to the Department of Interior.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Amodei has a rating of 0.383, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes him more conservative than any of Nevada’s House Democrats are liberal, but still relatively moderate for the Republican caucus. Over the past two years, he voted with Republicans 96 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship Index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Amodei is amongst probably the most bipartisan members of Congress, rating thirty second.
Notable causes: Land management, immigration
Fun fact: Amodei is a vintage automotive enthusiast.
Rep. Susie Lee
One in all Congress’ most bipartisan members, Lee won an in depth re-election campaign and can now function a member of the minority for the primary time.
Geography: Lee’s district is the world west and south of Las Vegas, stretching to Laughlin on the southwest border.
Variety of terms: Three (currently)
Before Congress: Led plenty of education nonprofits, including Las Vegas’ Inner-City Games after-school program
Age: 56
Committee assignments: Lee spent her last term on the Appropriations Committee, but as considered one of its shortest-tenured members, there’s no guarantee that she keeps it.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Lee has a rating of -0.287, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes her probably the most moderate member of Nevada’s House delegation. She votes with the Democrats 97 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Lee ranked tenth overall in 2021 – a measure she likes to tout.
Notable causes: Water conservation, education, workforce development, abortion rights
Fun fact: Lee was a competitive swimmer throughout her childhood and in college.
Rep. Steven Horsford
Now the leader of the influential Congressional Black Caucus, Horsford can have the ear of Democratic Party leaders this term.
Geography: Horsford’s district is within the central a part of the state, including most of northern Clark County, Nye County, and White Pine County, amongst others.
Variety of terms: 4 (currently)
Before Congress: A former Nevada Senate majority leader, Horsford also worked at Vegas-based public affairs firm R&R Partners and led the job training program Culinary Training Academy.
Age: 49
Committee assignments: Horsford spent last Congress on the Ways & Means and Budget Committees, and desires to stay on Ways & Means this term.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Horsford has a rating of -0.35, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes him probably the most left-wing member of the Nevada delegation within the House, but barely more conservative than the typical Democrat. He votes with Democrats 97 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Horsford ranked 251st overall in 2021 – the bottom rank of the House Nevadans.
Notable causes: Gun violence prevention, health care, workforce development, public safety
Fun fact: Horsford is the one first-generation Trinidadian-American in Congress – his mother is from Trinidad.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)’s handpicked successor, Cortez Masto just won one other six years as Nevada’s senior senator.
Variety of terms: Two (currently)
Before Congress: Cortez Masto’s profession in Nevada public service includes serving as attorney general and as chief of staff for former Gov. Bob Miller.
Age: 58
Committee assignments: Cortez Masto sits on 4 committees (Finance; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources (ENR); Indian Affairs), and chairs a public lands subcommittee as a part of her ENR responsibilities.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Horsford has a rating of -0.362, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes her probably the most liberal member of the complete Nevada delegation. She votes with the Democrats 98 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Cortez Masto ranked thirty fourth amongst senators in 2021 – firmly in the highest half.
Notable causes: Immigration, health care access, mental health, Native issues, renewable energy, water conservation, inexpensive housing, human trafficking
Fun fact: Cortez Masto met her husband, a former Secret Service agent, while they worked on coordinating the logistics of a visit for then-President Bill Clinton to Las Vegas.
Sen. Jacky Rosen
Rosen is in the ultimate two years of her first Senate term, and is up for re-election in 2024.
Variety of terms: One (currently)
Before Congress: Rosen was a pc programmer for several firms across Southern Nevada, and served one term within the House of Representatives.
Age: 65
Committee assignments: Rosen sat on more committees than some other Senate Democrat within the last term, with perches on the Committees on Armed Services; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and the Special Committee on Aging. She chairs a tourism subcommittee.
Partisanship: Using DW-NOMINATE, a political science measure that tracks partisanship based on a member’s votes, Rosen has a rating of -0.283, during which -1 is probably the most liberal and 1 is probably the most conservative. That makes her probably the most centrist member of the complete Nevada delegation. She votes with the Democrats 98 percent of the time.
Bipartisanship Index: Georgetown University’s Lugar Center tracks bipartisanship by measuring how often members of Congress co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party and attract sponsors of the alternative party to their very own bills. Rosen ranked ninth amongst senators in 2021 – some extent of pride for her that she’s sure to campaign on.
Notable causes: Cybersecurity, tourism, maternal health, immigration, veterans’ issues, workforce development, inexpensive housing
Fun fact: During college, Rosen waited tables at Caesars Palace and was a member of the Culinary Union.
Nevada Democrats honor second anniversary of Jan. 6 revolt
Friday was not only concerning the speakership vote – it was also the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Nevada’s Democrats took the occasion to honor the bravery of Capitol Police on that day and recall their experiences.
In a press release, Cortez Masto said her thoughts are with the families of law enforcement officials who lost their lives in consequence of the attack.
“January 6 reminded us that we must stand together as Democrats and Republicans to guard our democracy,” she said in a press release. “I appreciate the work of so many individuals in Nevada, from voters to election officials to poll observers, who’ve ensured our elections remain protected and secure. I’ll proceed to fight for democracy and make certain our government works for Nevada.”
In a newsletter, Cortez Masto recounted her experience two years ago. As she was leaving her office to move to the Senate floor, she remembers seeing a police officer washing tear gas out of his eyes, telling her not to fret, after which running back to the Capitol steps to face the mob.
She described talking with colleagues after being moved to a secure location concerning the importance of certifying the election that very same night. And he or she recounted the pain of learning just what number of law enforcement officials suffered injuries, and hearing of the 4 who later died by suicide.
“On this difficult anniversary for our nation, I remember the bravery of the law enforcement officials who help protect me and my colleagues each day,” she wrote. “Their dedication gives me hope.”
Horsford attended a memorial Friday on the Capitol steps led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
In a tweet, he touted the recent passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act to make clear that every state may only send one slate of electors, amongst other reforms, to combat the election challenges from 2020 and on Jan. 6.
“We passed reforms to the Electoral Count Act to safeguard our elections and make sure that their sacrifices needn’t occur again,” he wrote.
Rosen also took to Twitter to thank Capitol Police for risking their lives “to guard our democracy, our institutions, and our lifestyle,” she wrote. Reps. Lee and Titus tweeted similar messages.
Across the Capitol
- Cortez Masto and Rosen sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking for the Nevada broadband map to be fixed, saying they were concerned that Nevada was getting inadequate federal resources due to flawed data.
- Horsford spoke at a ceremonial swearing-in for the Congressional Black Caucus Tuesday, bringing his pastor, Nehemiah Ministries’ Rev. Kelcey West, to do the opening invocation. (I’ll have more on Horsford’s recent role soon!)
- In a moment of functionality within the upper chamber, Vice President Kamala Harris swore Cortez Masto in for her second term.
- On immigration, the Biden administration announced an expansion of each the legal pathway for migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti and the Title 42 program, which allows the federal government to instantly deport migrants who cross the border illegally under a public health advisory. The Supreme Court last month temporarily permitted Title 42 to proceed while legal arguments are being prepared, and can hear oral arguments Mar. 1.
- Each Sens. Cortez Masto and Rosen were answers within the Latest York Times crossword this week!
Notable and Quotable
“Well, no one’s died yet.”
- Rep. Mark Amodei, on the GOP mood on Thursday
The Week Ahead
The House will go about passing a rules package and committee rosters might be solidified.
This text was updated at 11 a.m. on 1/7/23 to correct the geographical boundaries of Reps. Lee and Titus’ districts.