Congress

3 policy heavyweights endangered by redistricting

Published

6 months ago

December 24, 2025

Members of both parties have yet to reckon with one inevitable consequence of the redistricting fight that’s rippling across the country — the loss of years of policy expertise on Capitol Hill.

While many of the lawmakers at risk of losing their seats in the redistricting wars have only a few years under their belt, several senior lawmakers who have spent decades building their legislative portfolios and climbing the ranks of the most powerful House committees are also now seeing their political futures threatened.

They include Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), who aims to be the next chair of the Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), an appropriations “cardinal” who oversees funds for the military and defense agencies.

And then there’s Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), a vocal progressive and the second-most senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, who is choosing to retire rather than compete against his younger colleague, rising progressive star Greg Casar.

The departure of any one of these members would go beyond simply scrambling party ratios and potentially determining the House majority in the 2026 midterms; their displacement would impact the ideological makeups of their respective committees and leave gaping knowledge voids.

Here’s how a House without Doggett, Calvert and Wittman could change how Congress approaches taxation, health, defense and national security.

A progressive policy voice

Doggett has spent 50 years in politics and three decades in the House. As the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, the Austin-area lawmaker is known for his attacks on corporate influence over politics and the machinations of Big Pharma, and worked to end lower tax rates for American companies that offshore their profits.

And as the second-most-senior Democrat on the committee, Doggett also has a reputation for representing the interests of progressives on a panel stacked with moderates. He has over the years been one of the only Democratic tax writers willing to privately challenge Ways and Means ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who has been criticized at times for being too close to special interests.

“He’s been sort of a lone voice fighting against Big Pharma, against [pharmacy benefit managers], against Medicare Advantage, against price-gouging,” said fellow committee member Don Beyer (D-Va.) in an interview. “He’s never hesitated to disagree with Richie, too … Lloyd doesn’t just roll over.”

Doggett, in an interview, recalled efforts to amend drug pricing legislation authored by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a 2019 committee markup, ignoring instructions from leadership not to do so.

“I offered amendments that were opposed and defeated by Chairman Neal … to extend coverage to the uninsured,” said Doggett. “The committee’s position was that it had to be done just the way Pelosi submitted it.”

Asked for comment, a Neal spokesperson referred to the lawmaker’s statement at the time of Doggett’s retirement, which recognized the Texan as “a bulldog in the fight for the little guy.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, recalled in an interview that Doggett helped keep the Democrats’ signature party-line legislation of 2022 from straying too far to the middle.

“Lloyd was our leader on Ways and Means, definitely around billionaire taxes and stock buybacks,” she said. “He’s willing to stand up to party leadership, which is often necessary on that committee and, in general, on some of these tax issues.”

A defense appropriations guru

California’s redistricting plans have set the stage for a contentious primary fight between GOP Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim. It has many Republicans openly fretting about the implications of losing Calvert, who has spent two-and-a-half decades working on defense policy on Capitol Hill.

A fellow California Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa, was caught on hot mic in early Decembersaying Kim should step aside and consider a position in the administration because “with Ken, we need him exactly where he is.”

Another defense appropriator, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), said in a recent interview that “for the national security of the United States, it’s hard to find somebody who is more important than Ken Calvert. … He knows defense, the intricacies, the details like nobody — like nobody.”

Calvert’s expertise is so revered he obtained a waiver from House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) to serve beyond his term limit as the head of the Defense subcommittee in the current Congress; he’s not likely to get a waiver for the next one.

Still, colleagues say Calvert is regarded as an institutional encyclopedia on defense spending matters, regularly citing data points from his vast knowledge of military history, the history of weapons systems, various bureaucracies within the defense sphere and the strategies of rival world powers.

Calvert has also taken the lead on infusing new money into defense programs focused on innovative weapons and logistics systems, launching a $100 million dollar initiative in 2022 to speed up the production and acquisition of cutting-edge military technology.

“He’s got institutional knowledge that is very rare. There’s only a few members who have that much time in the House,” said Defense subcommittee vice chair Jake Ellzey (R-Texas) in an interview. “And that institutional knowledge is irreplaceable, unless you get somebody who’s been working it that long, and there’s nobody that even comes close.”

Calvert, in a statement, called himself “uniquely qualified to work with the Trump Administration” as “a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and having worked in this space for many years.”

An advocate for Virginia’s defense community

Wittman, who was first elected in 2007, has long been eyeing the opportunity to ascend to the top GOP position on the House Armed Services Committee once the current chair, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), completes his three-term tenure at the end of 2026. The Virginia Republican has held leadership roles across multiple subcommittees and now presides over the Tactical Air & Land Forces subpanel.

“[He is] very knowledgeable, carries himself very well, very well respected,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), a member of Wittman’s subcommittee, in an interview.

But Wittman’s seat has been a top target of Democrats’ mid-decade redistricting plans, which could result in making the 1st Congressional District much bluer.

Wittman has been a fierce advocate of his state’s shipbuilding industry — which is responsible for producing aircraft carriers and a fleet of nuclear-attack submarines — and sees the equipment as critical to the U.S. military’s readiness for potential conflict with China in the Pacific.

One House GOP aide who works on national security issues, granted anonymity to speak candidly, argued that Democrats’ targeting of Wittman in its proposed redistricting map is risky for the future of Virginia’s defense infrastructure and industry at large.

The aide speculated that the Trump administration could someday slow the construction of aircraft carriers in light of questions about their efficacy in modern warfare or even target bases in Virginia for realignment and closure.

“They’re taking a gamble,” the aide said of Democratic attempts to unseat a champion of the state’s defense industry with influence and seniority. “They’re trading political dominance for potential irrelevance in the defense sphere.”

Abigail Gost, a spokesperson for Wittman, said that the congressman has no plans to leave Congress and “believes continuity and experience matter — especially at a time of heightened global instability and rapid change”

Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.

Congress

Johnson says he will send housing bill to Trump on Monday

Published

17 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Speaker Mike Johsnon said he plans to send President Donald Trump a bipartisan housing bill Monday, just days after the president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation after Congress failed to pass his elections security act.

Speaking with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson said the 21st Century ROAD To Housing Act is a Republican priority for lowering costs for Americans.

“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” the Louisiana Republican told host Maria Bartiromo. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s remarks.

The bill is the product of almost a year of back-and-forth between all four congressional corners and aims to increase affordability by boosting housing supply and home ownership. It passed both chambers of Congress with wide bipartisan support.

Trump was scheduled to sign the bill into law last week but canceled the ceremony “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”

Trump’s SAVE America Act would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end mail-in voting. Trump has also said he would like the bill to include prohibitions on transgender athletes competing. But Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated the legislation does not have enough votes to pass.

Congressional leaders appeared taken aback by Trump’s signing cancellation, but Johnson on Sunday said he and the president have since met in the Oval Office to discuss the housing bill “in great detail.”

“We made a lot of promises to the voters, and we’re fulfilling those every single day of this Congress,” Johnson said. “This is a big part of that because this will increase the availability, the access to more housing, bring down cost, cut regulations, do the things we know are very important for that market. The president and I talked about that at length. Of course he wants to do those things.”

But if Trump does not sign the housing bill into law within the next few days, it would still become law unless he were to veto it. Congress also has the power to override a presidential veto.

Congress

Sen. Thom Tillis rails against Trump’s fixation on voting legislation

Published

17 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday expressed frustration with President Donald Trump’s continued fixation on passing the SAVE America Act.

In an interview with BLN’s “Face the Nation,” the retiring North Carolina Republican lamented “the impossible task” of implementing the requirements of the legislation ahead of November’s crucial midterms.

“Why are we doing more things to undermine our confidence in elections, rather than getting the strong message out that will win for Republicans this year?” Tillis said.

Rather than promoting the bill — which would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end widespread mail-in voting — Tillis said Republicans should tell voters about “the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America” while accepting the current voting laws.

“Win by the good results that Republicans have produced and stop undermining the confidence in the elections,” said Tillis. “This is a bedrock of our 250-year history of success as the democracy that changed the world. Let’s not mess with that between now and November.”

Trump has said the SAVE America Act is his “No. 1 priority” ahead of midterms, going so far as to abruptly cancel a bill signing for major bipartisan legislation on housing affordability until Congress passes his elections bill. But many Democrats are staunchly against the bill, arguing it could disenfranchise millions of voters, and Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly indicated it does not have the votes to pass.

Tillis co-sponsored the original SAVE America Act but has objected to Trump’s version of the legislation, which would also bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.

It’s not the first time Tillis has clashed with Trump.

Earlier this year, Tillis blocked Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department dropped an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has also spoken out against the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” calling it a “payout for punks.” And he has emerged as a fierce critic of Bill Pulte, Trump’s interim director of national intelligence.

“Let’s try and figure out a way to completely and finally end these distractions so that we can focus on the damage Democrats could do if they take the House, if they beat incumbent Republicans in the Senate. That’s what Republicans need to be talking about between now and November,” Tillis said Sunday.

Congress

Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump: ‘Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage’

Published

18 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bill Cassidy appeared to question President Donald Trump’s view of Congress, saying in an interview that he is not sure Trump grasps that Congress “is a separate body, separate from the presidency.”

“Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage, and, frankly, sometimes Congress acts like it’s an appendage,” the Louisiana Republican said in a pre-taped interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.

The latest criticism in a public clash between the two leaders, Cassidy also told host Margaret Brennan that he would be focused on affordability, including the cost of health care and groceries, if he were president.

“If I were president, I would be focused on those people that they have, my people, our people, us at the kitchen table. How do you make their life better? And that’s what I think the president should be focused on,” Cassidy said.

The relationship between Cassidy and Trump has been rocky for some time. Cassidy was one of only a handful of Republican leaders who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Trump and Cassidy recently clashed in a closed-door meeting between GOP leaders, with Cassidy admitting he raised his voice to “match” the president’s.

“The president said something negative about me. I received it as attempting to bully me from asking a question that I think the American people need to know, and I’m not going to be bullied,” Cassidy said at the time.

However, after receiving a special briefing from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Cassidy changed his vote on a resolution designed to rein in Trump’s power to wage war against Iran.

“They said right now the negotiations are delicate, and they could collapse if they’re not nursed along in the appropriate way. I can accept that,” Cassidy said.

“That’s the reason they said for their kind of lack of being forthcoming. I can accept that, but my goal was to be briefed, to have the truth in order to make a decision for the benefit of my country, and that was satisfied.”

Still, Cassidy’s stance against Trump has cost him: After serving more than a decade in the Senate, Cassidy lost his campaign for renomination after Trump endorsed against him. Rep. Julia Letlow will be the Louisiana Republican Senate candidate this fall.