ICYMI: Top reads on Congress
Kate Zernike, “Nancy Pelosi: Demonized or Celebrated, She Refuses to Agonize,” New York Times:
“Ms. Pelosi, 78, is the highest-ranking woman in American politics and American political history. And as the only woman at the table for so long, she has become the proxy for all the complicated feelings around women in power.”
Jennifer Bendery, “Nancy Pelosi Isn’t Going Anywhere: ‘I’m Really Good At What I Do’,” Huffington Post:
“The woman knows how to count votes and pass bills. She fundraises like a beast. She knows how to cut a winning deal with Republicans, even when she’s in the minority. She’s demonized by the right as a liberal monster, and she’s under pressure from some in her caucus to step aside and let a younger generation take charge.”
John Bresnahan and Rachel Bade, “Opposition to Pelosi hardens,” Politico:
“Ten Democratic incumbents or members-elect told POLITICO that they will vote against Nancy Pelosi for speaker on the House floor, exposing a serious problem for the California Democrat in her bid to reclaim the gavel. ”
Josh Chafetz, “What Can Nancy Pelosi Do Now?” Politico:
“So now what? What can a newly empowered Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic House do to harness that backlash? How, in short, can The Resistance go from the streets and the ballot box to the halls of Congress?”
Lindsey McPherson, “Where Newly Elected Democrats Stand on Nancy Pelosi Speaker Bid,” Roll Call:
“Several Democratic candidates expressed opposition to Pelosi or echoed general calls for new leadership during their campaigns, but only a handful made specific pledges to oppose her during a floor vote for speaker.”
Niels Lesniewski, “Mitch McConnell Talks About Working With Nancy Pelosi,” Roll Call:
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the most likely next speaker of the House are not strangers. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and McConnell have had to work together over the years, as long-tenured leaders of their respective conferences. And McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, noted their history goes back many years before that.”
Emma Dumain, “Jim Clyburn will run for No. 3 role in House leadership,” McClatchy:
“Rep. Jim Clyburn cooled speculation early Wednesday that could seek one of the top two House leadership jobs, saying he will run for the number three slot in the new House Democratic majority, his current position. The South Carolina lawmaker told McClatchy early Wednesday morning that he would soon, in a letter to colleagues, make his candidacy official for House Majority Whip.”
Lindsey McPherson, “House Republicans Launch Quick Campaigns for Leadership Elections Next Week,” Roll Call:
“McCarthy, the current House GOP No. 2, is not running uncontested for the top Republican post. Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan wants to be minority leader too, although he does not appear to have the level of support McCarthy does.”
Burgess Everett, “GOP women battle to join Senate leadership,” Politico:
“Mitch McConnell has wanted a woman on his leadership team for years. And next week he’s almost certain to get one, though not before a battle between a pair of his conference’s key female members.”
Sarah Binder, “Here are 4 things to expect from a new, Trumpier, more polarized Congress,” Washington Post:
“For the first time since 2010, Democrats will lead the House of Representatives when the 116th Congress convenes early next year — while Senate Republicans will have padded their 51-seat majority by a few more, leaving them far below a filibuster-proof margin of 60 votes. What does it all mean? Here are four takeaways from Tuesday night’s results.”
Albert R. Hunt, “Congratulations, Democrats. Now Watch Your Step,” Bloomberg:
“Taking control of the House of Representatives will give Democrats a gold mine worth of opportunities to investigate the ethically challenged administration of President Donald Trump. That’s a potential nightmare for the White House but also a political minefield for the winners.”
John Bresnahan and Rachel Bade, “House Dems ready to clash with Trump,” Politico:
“House Democrats were romping to victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections, in a stinging defeat for President Donald Trump that breaks the GOP stranglehold on power in Washington and immediately brings the question of impeachment into play next year.”
Lindsey McPherson, “Democrats Win House Majority; Here’s What They’ll Do With It,” Roll Call:
“Now that the midterm results have confirmed Democrats have won the House, here’s what you can expect with them in control next Congress.”
Karoun Demirjian, “Contentious probe of FBI, Justice Dept. hangs in the balance as GOP weighs new leadership posts,” Washington Post:
“The Republican chairmen of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees are retiring in January, opening the party’s top spots on two panels uniquely equipped to harangue the executive branch — authority they leveraged this year to doggedly scrutinize FBI and Justice Department officials investigating allegations Trump’s campaign conspired with Moscow to influence the 2016 presidential election.”
Jennifer Shutt, “Committee Charged With Overhauling Budget Process Nears Deadline,” Roll Call (podcast):
“A 16-member bipartisan, bicameral select committee is on the verge of proposing changes to the annual budget and appropriations process, including moving the budget resolution from an annual to a biennial schedule. CQ’s Jennifer Shutt talks about the select committee’s progress with Mike Veselik, manager of the Federal Budget Process Reform Project at Convergence, and Building a Better Budget Process stakeholder Matt Owens, who testified in front of the panel earlier this year.”
Niv Elis, “Congressional panel scales back bipartisan budget reform proposal,” The Hill:
“A major overhaul of the federal budgeting process appears to be off the table, as a special committee on reform prepares to instead advance a scaled-back version of the proposal.”
Doug Thompson, “Womack: budget reform bill is close,” Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette:
“A bipartisan budget process reform bill should get committee approval next week and go before the next session of Congress, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack said Thursday.”
Molly E. Reynolds, “Why are Reps. Clamoring to Join the House Intelligence Committee?” Lawfare:
“Whichever party triumphs in the Nov. 6 midterm elections, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will have some new members when the 116th Congress convenes in January 2019. And according to a recent story in Politico, members of both parties are enthusiastically pursuing the available openings.”
Elana Schor, “Voters send record number of women to Congress,” Politico:
“Female candidates for Congress made history on Tuesday night, with more than 100 women sweeping into office on the strength of a Democratic House takeover powered in large part by college-educated female voters.”
Elaine Kamarck, “2018: Another ‘Year of the Woman’,” Brookings FixGov:
“In the 2018 elections, women played a bigger role than they have in any other election in American history. Two hundred and fifty-five women ran for office in the two major parties. And as of Wednesday morning, Democratic women had won nearly half (47 percent) of their races for 93 seats, and Republican women had won 24 percent of their races for 13 seats.”
Kathryn Pearson, “Will Tuesday’s Election Narrow the Gender Gap in Representation?” The Gender Policy Report:
“Research shows that women typically do as well as or, in the case of Democratic women, slightly better than their male counterparts in primaries, but this gap was much larger in 2018 than in prior cycles.”
Andrew Menezes, “Meet the History-Makers of the 116th Congress,” Roll Call:
“Diversity has been a hallmark of the 2018 midterm elections, which have seen a record number of women, minorities and first-time candidates running for office.”
Russell Berman, “How Senate Republicans Will Use Their New Power,” The Atlantic:
“With help from Donald Trump, the GOP advantage in the upper chamber will grow by at least two seats and by as many as five, giving the party a crucial buffer as it tries to extend a conservative imprint on the federal judiciary over the next two years.”
Jeff Stein, “House Problem Solvers Caucus has solved few problems, bipartisan critics allege,” Washington Post:
“But to some critics in both parties, the Problem Solvers offer little more than a thin veneer of bipartisanship that clouds rather than clarifies the stakes of the 2018 midterm elections — an election-year talking point that vulnerable incumbents can tout without accomplishing much.”
Alex Gangitano, “7 Quirkiest Rules for Staffers During Campaign Season,” Roll Call:
“Reading through the Senate and House Ethics rules for staffers doing campaign activity can be a thankless task. It can be hard to keep track of the right protocol to follow just to help your boss win an election.”
John Lawrence, “Advice to Tuesday’s Winners: Your Aides Aren’t Decoration,” Roll Call:
“Having spent 38 years as a House staffer (the last eight as chief of staff to Speaker Nancy Pelosi), and as the author of a new book on the 1974 House reformers, I have some suggestions for these incoming, energetic, perhaps idealistic legislators to help them transition successfully to life in Washington and make them more effective public servants.”
Jonah Goldberg, “The Hollowing Out of American Political Parties,” National Review:
“It is perhaps the central irony of our politics today: We live in an incredibly polarized and partisan moment, but our political parties have never been weaker.”
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