The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

The House has its committee chairs. Here’s what the selection means

Bobby Scott explores Virginia gubernatorial run

Is New York in the House? Yes, and the Senate too

What the next generation of Senate leaders bring to the table

THE TOP

The House has its committee chairs. Here’s what the selection means

Happy Friday morning.

The House Republican Steering Committee has finished selecting chairs for the 119th Congress. And this will come as a shock to no one, but we have some thoughts about what happened.

A lot of white guys. The steering committee selected a lot of white men to lead panels across the Capitol. Of the 16 elected committee chairs, 15 of them are white men. The only exception is Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), whose maternal grandparents immigrated from Mexico.

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) — who ran for House Foreign Affairs Committee chair — lost to Mast, robbing Republicans of a woman as a full committee chair. And Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) lost to Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) for chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, which means there will be no Black men leading GOP panels either. In fact, Republicans have never had a Black lawmaker chairing a major House committee, as far as we can tell.

Speaker Mike Johnson has said that Republicans have an “embarrassment of riches” in choosing members to lead committees. But those riches apparently don’t include any women or people of color.

Leadership’s power withers. Louisiana has seven votes on the House Republican Steering Committee. Yet the Bayou State — the home of Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — took two losses this week in the inner sanctum of the GOP leadership.

Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) — who lost his seat on steering in a purge of Kevin McCarthy allies — topped Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) to become the next chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Scalise backed Barr but did not whip votes or speak on Barr’s behalf in the steering session.

And Wagner got walloped on the first ballot of a four-way race by Mast for the Foreign Affairs Committee gavel. Scalise went all in for Wagner, whipping members and speaking on the Missourian’s behalf in the closed steering meeting.

The truth is Wagner’s defeat is a stinging loss for Scalise. He’s gone all in just twice for committee chairs — for Wagner and for Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) when she successfully sought to become Appropriations Committee chair. But, as we first detailed Thursday morning, Johnson’s indifference was read as support for Mast, robbing Wagner of the win. An opportunity to chair a committee may not come along again for Wagner, which her allies have been chattering about since this defeat.

What is the point of being a House Republican leader if you can’t get your preferred committee chairs into place?

Crypto’s winning streak continues. The ascendance of President-elect Donald Trump has ushered in a heyday for cryptocurrency. Hill’s victory on the Financial Services panel is also a big deal for the digital asset industry.

The Arkansas Republican spent this Congress as the first chair of a subcommittee dedicated to crypto policy. That work helped solidify Hill’s reputation among the sector’s advocates.

Which is no small feat after crypto’s rough and tumble last couple of years. The collapse of FTX in late 2022 evaporated much of the sector’s political goodwill in Washington.

Very few lawmakers have played a more central role in rehabilitating the sector’s reputation than Hill. His credibility in financial policy goes further than most, and we wrote this weekend about how Hill’s advocacy has already shaped an incoming fight over crypto’s “debanking” woes.

It’s already been a big week for crypto, as far as political will goes. The industry heaped significant pressure on Congress to stop Caroline Crenshaw from being renominated to a term on the Securities and Exchange Commission as one final act from the Senate Banking Committee. Republicans, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), helped kill the nomination Thursday by denying Democrats a waiver they needed after attendance hiccups in the morning.

Reminder: The steering committee will begin populating the “A” committees today — Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Appropriations. Read about some of those aspiring members here.

– Jake Sherman and Brendan Pedersen

The Daily Punch 🥊 With new episodes every weekday morning, The Daily Punch brings you inside Capitol Hill, the White House and Washington all in less than 15 minutes. Listen to today’s episode now.

OLD DOMINION

Bobby Scott explores Virginia gubernatorial run

Longtime Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott is eyeing a bid to be governor of Virginia, according to multiple sources familiar with his thinking.

The 77-year-old Scott would be running against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who didn’t seek reelection to the House to seek the governorship next year.

Scott’s mulling the race comes as some Virginia Democrats have raised concerns about the party’s standing with Black voters.

Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce, told us he’s looking at the opportunity but is also staying mindful of his House duties. Scott repeatedly noted the razor-thin House margins when discussing the issue.

“Usually people running statewide take about a three-month leave and I’m not ready to do that, but we’ll see. I haven’t ruled it out,” Scott said in an interview.

Top Democratic sources are doubtful Scott will get into this race. But Scott has been privately talking to colleagues about it. Scott has laid out his case and what his strategy would be if he entered the primary race against Spanberger.

Several senior Virginia Democrats expressed concerns with Spanberger’s ability to excite Black voters in the state, especially after a disappointing presidential election where Vice President Kamala Harris underperformed among voters of color.

Scott, the dean of the Virginia delegation, was the first Black member elected to Congress from the state since Reconstruction. And whoever ends up being the Democratic nominee will likely end up facing Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears — the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia.

One Virginia state lawmaker told us Sears could peel off Black voters from Democrats. The Democratic nominee will have to “reintroduce themselves to Black voters,” the lawmaker said. Others said Scott could make the primary competitive.

Sears challenged Scott back in 2004 to represent Virginia’s 3rd District, a majority Black district that Scott has held since 1993. Scott won with 69% of the vote, the second-worst performance of his career. Which gives you an idea of Scott’s hold on that district.

For her part, Spanberger’s campaign said she has “made consistent outreach to all corners and communities of Virginia” since launching her gubernatorial bid in November 2023.

Spanberger’s allies added she has a fundraising edge as well as likely a higher name ID than Scott. Spanberger also has a significant timing advantage and has already been campaigning all over the state.

And Spanberger has experience winning voters outside the Democratic base, running three successful House campaigns in a purple district. Spanberger cultivated a reputation for bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve supported Abigail since the day she [announced] and she’s the candidate out there right now and we’re gonna make sure we win this seat,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said.

GOP outlook: Republicans are confident in Sears’ ability to beat Spanberger, given the Youngkin administration’s popularity.

Recent polls show Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s job approval rating has consistently been well above 50%. Youngkin has signaled Sears’ candidacy will be a continuation of his administration.

Sears has also been seeking to draw more Black and immigrant voters into the Republican Party since being elected. President-elect Donald Trump, of course, made strong inroads with voters of color this election cycle and improved his margins in Virginia.

Some critics of Sears, however, noted that she may have issues going off script or being undisciplined in messaging. The race, which will fall in the middle of Trump’s presidency next year, could also serve as a referendum on Trump and Republicans.

— Mica Soellner, John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona

THE EMPIRE STATE

Is New York in the House? Yes, and the Senate too

For years, Democrats on Capitol Hill have gotten flak for being too California-centric. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s long run in power, Silicon Valley’s deep wallets and the huge Democratic delegation made the Golden State the big power in the House Democratic Caucus.

Now it’s New York’s turn. The Empire State is running the table at the top rungs of the House Democratic Caucus.

Consider this:

– House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries represents Brooklyn.

– Rep. Yvette Clarke is the newly elected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

– Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who represents upper Manhattan and the Bronx, is the new chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

– Rep. Grace Meng of Queens was elected chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

– Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens is the ranking Democrat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

– Rep. Nydia Velasquez of Brooklyn and Queens is the ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee. Again.

– Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of Queens and Brooklyn is running to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

Not to mention that Chuck Schumer is the Senate Democratic leader and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand could be DSCC chair next cycle.

On top of that, President-elect Donald Trump hails from New York. Howard Lutnick, his nominee to be Commerce secretary, is from New York. Robert F. Kennedy now claims California, but the HHS secretary nominee lived most of his life in New York.

Former GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to lead EPA, represented Long Island in the House. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to be ambassador to the United Nations, is from upstate New York.

Janette Nesheiwat, Trump’s incoming surgeon general, is from New York. Todd Blanche, the nominee to be deputy attorney general, practices in Manhattan.

To be fair, New York is the fourth-most populous state in America. But the volume of New Yorkers serving in key roles at one time is notable.

— Jake Sherman and Melanie Zanona

THE SENATE

What the next generation of Senate leaders bring to the table

The infamously top-heavy Senate leadership ladder is receiving an infusion of new blood from younger members.

The new entrants to the upper echelons of leadership — Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on the Democratic side, as well as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for the GOP — all cut their teeth on the high-profile Senate Judiciary Committee and are offering a more modern communications strategy. Let’s take a look.

The GOP: Cotton beat out Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for the role of Senate Republican Conference chair, the number three role in GOP leadership. Cotton is also in line to take over the Senate Intelligence Committee gavel.

In the eyes of his close ally, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), the 47-year-old Cotton offers a fresh perspective on politics, similar to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

“He’s an example of a next-generation leader,” Britt said. “We saw with JD on the ballot along with President Trump, having parents of school-aged kids brings a new thought process to the table.”

Cotton, an Army veteran, often leans into national security issues and was seen as a potential contender for a Trump administration post. But the Arkansas Republican decided to stick with the Senate and will have an expansive role next year.

The Democrats: With Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dominating most of the power structure in leadership, it’s often difficult for other rising stars to gain a foothold. But Schumer elevated Klobuchar, 64, and Booker, 55, to the No. 3 and No. 4 positions in leadership this month.

Both Democrats ran for president in 2020. Rank-and-file Democrats told us they hope the new leadership members can serve as a go-between with the caucus when deciding what Trump policies to go to the mat against next Congress.

Klobuchar and Booker are both ambitious Democrats who have been clear about taking on Trump in an aggressive manner. In the major Supreme Court nomination fights of the Trump administration, both senators stood out as particularly notable interviewers.

Of course, given Schumer’s iron grip on power, there’s some skepticism among Democrats that the leadership changes will lead to much reform.

“I’m not entirely sure what the new arrangement will bring, but I’m of a mind that our party is pretty broke,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. “We have to be aggressive in messaging how kleptocratic billionaires are going to be running this next White House and how all the rest of us are going to be screwed.”

— Max Cohen

… AND THERE’S MORE

The Campaign. NetChoice – which counts Meta, Amazon and Netflix as members – is running a new spot in D.C. against KOSA. The ad says that KOSA is a government takeover of the internet and that parents, not politicians, should monitor their children’s online activities.

– Jake Sherman

MOMENTS

CLIPS