Congress
House Republicans are playing the Trump card in committee chair races
Republican lawmakers jockeying to lead House committees in the next Congress are touting their loyalty to President-elect Donald Trump as much as their ability to advance policy priorities as they make appeals to colleagues over the next two weeks.
With scores of members competing for a few key positions, contenders believe that success could hinge on their ability to show just how well-positioned they are to drive Trump’s legislative agenda across a range of policy areas including finance, energy and education.
“It’s going to be supremely important,” Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), a top contender to replace outgoing House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas), said in an interview after Trump addressed House Republicans last week. “What he spoke to us about is how his relationship with the House is better and stronger than the one he has with the Senate, and so he’s going to lean on us to get his agenda through.”
That agenda will include efforts to expand school choice, produce more fossil fuels and advance business-friendly cryptocurrency regulation — as well as sweeping rollbacks of Biden administration policies.
The extent to which allegiance to Trump carries the day will be a key first test of his hold on Congress, particularly since most of the races will be decided by secret ballot. Contenders will make their cases to a select group of colleagues, known as the steering committee, at the beginning of next month. Those members will then vote anonymously to determine the winner.
“It’s really about, ‘How are they going to get something done?’” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who serves on the steering committee, said in an interview. “That’s going to be the most important thing.”
The top Republicans on the House Rules, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Services committees are all retiring when the current Congress ends in December. Other panels, including House Foreign Affairs, Education and the Workforce, and Transportation, will need new leaders because of term limits.
Financial Services
Reps. Andy Barr of Kentucky, French Hill of Arkansas, Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Frank Lucas of Oklahoma are vying to become the top Republican on the committee that oversees Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and cryptocurrency.
Front-runners Barr and Hill have leaned hard into proving their Trump bona fides. Barr has focused his pitch on melding the party’s populist wing with its free-market core — and has spent the days since the election in close communication with key Trump allies like Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent. Over the next few weeks, he’ll give out red baseball hats carrying Trump’s promise to “Make Financial Services Great Again.”
“I’m working really hard to make sure that my vision is hand-in-glove with the incoming policy agenda of the Trump administration,” Barr, a close ally of Trump loyalist House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, said in an interview.
Hill, meanwhile, has cited his ability to coordinate with Trump on crypto — the president-elect gave him a shout out at a digital assets conference over the summer — and rolled out an agenda last week that he branded “Make Community Banking Great Again.” Hill’s plan, like Barr’s, includes proposals that parallel Trump’s agenda, including a pledge to “reverse the weaponization of the government” by blocking regulators from encouraging banks to cut ties with certain customers.
Barr’s ties to Trump run deeper than Hill’s. He watched the Super Bowl with the president-elect at Trump International Golf Club earlier this year and helped throw fundraisers for Trump and running mate JD Vance in Kentucky during the campaign. Before Hill endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, he was one of the few House Republicans to publicly push back against him for encouraging lawmakers to kill a key intelligence bill.
Whether any of that matters to steering committee members remains to be seen.
“Steering committee — a combination of leadership and people elected by district — tends to be the more experienced members, and it tends to be a different set of values,” Lucas said in an interview. “President Trump’s opinion matters to everyone in the Republican conference, but it’s still within the immediate panel” to decide who gets a gavel.
— Eleanor Mueller and Jasper Goodman
Foreign Affairs
Wagner can boast a connection to the Trump family after working with Ivanka Trump — as well as secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio — on paid leave legislation. (She shouted “Yes!” as Trump mentioned it during his 2019 State of the Union address.) Wagner said in an interview that committee hopefuls “should” lean into their Trump ties when presenting to the steering committee .
“He has brought a number of our House members across the finish line,” Wagner said. “There’s a clear mandate there from the people.”
Wagner also backed Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and co-chairs the Abraham Accords Caucus, named for the deal brokered under by the Trump administration to normalize Arab-Israeli relations. Her 2016 withdrawal of support for Trump over the Access Hollywood tape is “water under the bridge” that won’t affect her current relationship with him, said a House GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
Another contender, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, is known for his aggressive approach leading the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He endorsed Trump in 2016 and supported key decisions, such as the firing of FBI Director James Comey. Although Issa briefly backed a special prosecutor to investigate Trump’s Russia ties, he later walked back that support. He subsequently voted to reject Pennsylvania’s 2020 electoral votes, opposed Trump’s impeachment both times, and voted against the creation of an independent Jan. 6 commission.
Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a Ukraine Caucus co-chair, backs sustained U.S. support to Ukraine, a stance that diverges from Trump’s. Wilson has at the same time praised Trump, saying the president-elect’s recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrated a “peace through strength” approach.
Another contender, Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, served as the national chairman of Veterans for Trump, leading attacks on Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Waltz’s claims about his military record and defending Trump against criticism he doesn’t support troops. He’s also backed Trump amid his felony convictions and endorsed his foreign policy approach.
— Joe Gould
Transportation
Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, the current Transportation chair, is eyeing a challenge from Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas. Both are on the same plane when it comes to their relationship with Trump.
Graves is making a long-shot bid for a waiver that would allow him to dodge term limits. He wants to make his case to the steering committee on why he is the better choice than Crawford — the Highways and Transit Subcommittee chair who has been campaigning for the role since March.
Crawford said he has had a good relationship with Trump for “quite a while” and noted that he and the president-elect share priorities such as investing in infrastructure through the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
“I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t align perfectly, and we move forward with it,” Crawford said.
Graves has said that if he gets the waiver, he would work seamlessly with Trump as chair on a bill that focuses on hard infrastructure.
“We [have] got a long ways to go, but Trump’s a builder, so he gets it. And we need to do traditional infrastructure — that’s pouring concrete, laying asphalt, building roads, building bridges, and he’s going to get that,” Graves said. “So I’m sure it’s going to be heavily geared towards that.”
If Graves doesn’t get the waiver, expect Rep. David Rouzer of North Carolina — who has said he would be interested in running if Graves is out — to jump in the race. Rouzer, the subcommittee chair on water resources and environment, didn’t comment on any efforts to implement Trump-aligned policies.
— Chris Marquette
Agriculture
House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania grew closer to Trump in the final months of the 2024 campaign, strengthening ties that are also cementing his chances to maintain his gavel next year.
Thompson helped Trump campaign in his home state, which was seen as a critical battleground. Their relationship is a highly symbiotic one that enables Trump to reinforce his strong ties to rural America and the agriculture sector, while letting Thompson burnish his MAGA ties with GOP voters.
In September, Thompson joined Trump for a campaign roundtable for farmers in Smithton, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Protecting America Initiative, led by Richard Grenell, who was acting director of national intelligence during the president-elect’s first term, and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, who has been nominated to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
“We’ve always won with the farmers,” Trump said, seated next to Thompson.
Republican lawmakers don’t expect anyone to challenge Thompson for the Agriculture Committee gavel. He went through treatment for prostate cancer this Congress but has recovered. Should Trump tap Thompson to serve in his administration, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia would likely be next in line to fill the role.
— Meredith Lee Hill
Judiciary
One of Trump’s biggest supporters has a lock on being the chair of the Judiciary Committee: Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Jordan has been one of Trump’s biggest Hill supporters for years, and the two have a close relationship, including the president-elect’s backing for the lawmaker’s failed speaker bid last year.
Jordan keeping the gavel will give Trump a staunch ally directing some of the biggest investigations of the House GOP majority, including a potential investigation into special counsel Jack Smith, who has led the federal investigations into Trump.
— Jordain Carney
Energy and Commerce
Reps. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Bob Latta of Ohio are competing to chair the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, which has significant sway over health care and energy policy.
“I think he’ll let things play out,” Latta said when asked if Trump might put his finger on the scale in the race.
Both candidates are seen as being friendly with the president-elect. Though they have not messaged explicitly on their relationship, their pitches parallel some of his proposals.
Latta and Guthrie have both embraced permitting reform; are open to all energy sources, including renewables; and want to boost domestic energy production, in line with Trump’s push to make the county “energy independent.” While Trump hasn’t been particularly engaged in health care, the two men have signaled openness to reforms at public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health. Both have opposed what they see as electric vehicle “mandates” from the Biden administration, a major Trump talking point.
— Ben Leonard, with an assist from David Lim
Education and Workforce
Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah are in a race to lead the House Education and the Workforce Committee that has their loyalty to Trump on full display.
Walberg, dean of the Michigan delegation, frequently touts his relationship with the president-elect. He has a picture with Trump on Air Force One in his office.
Owens, who currently leads the panel’s subcommittee on higher education, says he and Trump agree that education is a top priority. Displayed outside of his office is a photo of Trump with his fist raised in the air after being shot at earlier this year.
Trump is likely to get key parts of his education and workforce agendas through either lawmaker. His repeated backing of school choice initiatives on the campaign trail could get momentum under Walberg or Owens, both of whom want to move legislation on the issue. Owens is also a vocal critic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and Walberg wants to simplify labor regulations.
— Mackenzie Wilkes
Rules
The steering committee won’t get a say in one of the races that could have the biggest impact on the president-elect’s agenda.
The House Rules Committee tees up most GOP policy bills for the floor, making it a last-stop for Trump and his allies to try to influence legislation.
But unlike most committees, whoever chairs the panel will ultimately be up to the speaker — and it’s usually a reliable leadership ally.
The current chair, Michael Burgess of Texas, is retiring. Some have floated Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania for the position, but he’s also chief deputy whip.
There’s also been a swirl of chatter around Rep. Virginia Foxx, who is losing her education and workforce gavel to term limits. The North Carolinian declined to say Wednesday whether she would accept the top job on Rules if offered.
“I’m not running for anything,” she said with a laugh.
Like Burgess, Foxx is a fierce defender of the president-elect. After delivering remarks at Trump rallies leading up to the election, her name is now among those being floated for Education secretary.
— Jordain Carney and Eleanor Mueller
The House Oversight Committee on Friday received one non-disclosure agreement involving billionaire founder of Apollo Global Management Leon Black, an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the panel deemed it insufficient and promised to follow up with his attorney.
The panel had provided extra time for Black to produce the non-disclosure agreements, but his attorneys only turned over one.
“Leon Black isn’t acting in good faith,” a spokesperson for Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said. “The Committee agreed to extend the deadline two weeks for full production of all NDAs and his attorney has deliberately chosen to only produce one. This is unacceptable and the Committee will follow up with his attorney.”
Susan Estrich, Black’s lawyer, said she sent the committee one NDA between Black and Guzel Ganieva, an agreement she said Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, was aware of. Ganieva and Black had an intimate relationship that resulted in Black making a payment to Ganieva for approximately $9.5 million. Ganieva filed a lawsuit against Black alleging sexual misconduct and defamation, which was dismissed by a judge in 2023.
“The responsive information includes the only confidentiality agreement that predated Epstein’s death and the only one of which Epstein was aware. Epstein was not involved with drafting this agreement,” Estrich said in a statement. “This confidentiality agreement with Guzel Ganieva resolved her attempts to extort Mr. Black.”
“The New York State Supreme Court dismissed Ms. Ganieva’s baseless lawsuit against Mr. Black with prejudice and that decision was affirmed by an appellate court,” the statement continued. “Ms. Ganieva expressly acknowledged that she never met Epstein.”
The House Oversight Committee’s subpoena demanded all NDAs for which Black is a party to, or that relate to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — a convicted sex offender and Epstein accomplice — that Black may have in his possession.
That information “is vital” to the panel’s inquiry, Comer said when he issued the subpoena after Black refused to answer questions about the agreements. “We need the NDAs to be able to move forward with the investigation,” Comer said at the time.
Black told the committee in June that he paid Epstein $158 million between 2013 and 2017 for “highly valuable and legitimate tax and estate planning services for my family office.”
Estrich said, “to imply misconduct because of the existence of a confidentiality agreement is entirely unjustified” and argued the agreements “are routinely used in business.” She also noted that “to the extent that Mr. Black may have executed confidentiality agreements in his business and private endeavors, they are not relevant to the legitimate purpose of the Committee’s work.”
Estrich added that Black “had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019” and that Black “never abused a woman.”
The White House is quietly trying to discourage a candidate previously endorsed by the president from switching congressional districts in Louisiana, as the GOP looks to pick up an additional seat in the state following a freshly drawn gerrymander.
White House officials relayed in calls earlier this week that state Sen. Blake Miguez — whom President Donald Trump backed in February to run in Louisiana’s 5th District, which is being vacated by Rep. Julia Letlow — was making moves to run in the newly redrawn 6th District, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Republicans are seeking to flip the 6th District after the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down major parts of the Voting Rights Act allowed the state Legislature to lock in a new 5-to-1 GOP majority map. In May, state lawmakers erased Rep. Cleo Fields’ (D-La.) sprawling, majority-Black and majority-Democratic district in favor of a safely Republican one.
Miguez is facing allegations of sexually assaulting a woman in 2007. Miguez has denied the claims of sexual assault, which resurfaced in March media reports and blindsided many Trump officials, according to three other people with knowledge of the conversations.
Jon George, the White House Southeast regional political director, said in the calls this week that Trump officials told Miguez in a recent meeting he would not immediately have the president’s endorsement to enter the race for the 6th District. White House officials would continue to assess the race.
George said Trump’s endorsement of Miguez in the 5th District would not be rescinded. He said on the calls that Miguez then indicated he would still push ahead to run in the 6th District.
His campaign website is now locked and password protected.
The people with knowledge of the calls and the president’s political operations were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. When reached for comment, a White House official — similarly granted anonymity — reiterated Trump has not pulled his backing.
“President Trump has not rescinded his endorsement of Blake Miguez. He will look at the candidate field after candidate filing if necessary, but at this point he has not made any changes nor does [he] have an intent to,” the official said. “If new information changes things, [we] will cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Miguez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Louisiana’s redistricting transformed Fields’ district from one then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried by about 15 points in 2024 to one Trump would have won by over 30 points, according to calculations from The Downballot.
Fields announced earlier this week he will not seek reelection, instead running for the state Senate.
Trump endorsed Miguez in February to run in the 5th District, after he ended his Senate bid to help clear the field for Letlow, who was Trump’s pick to primary GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy.
The 5th District was deep red before the Legislature redrew the lines earlier this year, and remains safe Republican territory even as the boundaries shifted a bit. A slew of GOP candidates are already in the race to replace Letlow, including state Rep. Michael Echols, the majority leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
State. Sen. Rick Edmonds, Speaker Mike Johnson’s former pastor, and several other Republicans are either already in or taking steps to run in the 6th District. The state’s filing deadline is Aug. 7.
Liz Crampton contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Senate Republicans to quickly advance a $95 billion budget blueprint — even as the mood on Capitol Hill signals GOP senators are inclined to wait until later this year, if ever.
“I am asking that the Senate adopt a Budget Resolution, which can pass with a simple Majority, before leaving for the August recess,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “We are ready to work side-by-side with the Senate to get this done for the American People!”
House Republicans approved the budget resolution before leaving town for weeks. It’s the first step in a two-part plan to use the reconciliation process to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass billions in funding for the Iran war, farm assistance and election-related grants.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t directly ruled out taking up the budget blueprint but warned Thursday that he doesn’t believe it currently has the votes to succeed.
“I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution, but we’ll see. … The priority is funding the government, and so to me, that’s the thing we’ve got to keep our eyes on,” Thune said.
Most Senate Republicans don’t expect Thune to put the measure on the floor before the Senate leaves town in early August for its extended summer break given the deep concerns surrounding the House’s blueprint inside the GOP conference: Deficit hawks want offsets, defense and farm-state Republicans want more money for their priorities and some GOP senators aren’t convinced they should pursue a third reconciliation bill to begin with.
Even if Thune was able to overcome all of those hurdles, the Senate will need to change the resolution to add instructions for its committees to draft portions of the reconciliation measure itself — meaning the House would need to vote on the budget resolution a second time later this year to kick off the reconciliation process in earnest.
But Trump is still attempting to twist Thune’s arm. Earlier this week he urged supporters to call the senate majority leader to tell him to pass the GOP election overhaul bill known as the SAVE America Act, noting parts of it could be included under a third reconciliation bill.
Some GOP senators have pointed out, however, that the SAVE America Act would need to be ruled germane to the reconciliation process by the Senate parliamentarian, and there’s no guarantee the proposal would withstand her scrutiny. A few GOP senators have also previously voted against versions of the bill.
Senate Republicans have also tried to explain to the president for months that the bill doesn’t have the 60 votes needed to advance and that there isn’t enough support to blow up the filibuster to ram it through that way, either.
Trump’s allies expect the president to keep hammering Thune in any case — though how hard Trump pushes could depend on the outcome of the midterms.
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