THe New York Times
A Close Look at the Chaotic House Republican Majority
Karen Yourish, Danielle Ivory and Charlie Smart – February 12, 2023
The tumult that broke out last month during the election of Kevin McCarthy for speaker illustrated the potential for profound dysfunction in the new House Republican majority. And the spectacle created by Republican lawmakers at the State of the Union address showed the unruly behavior of some in the GOP rank and file that is becoming a new normal.
Many lawmakers who were leading a chorus of boos and heckling were familiar faces from the far right, including some who are poised to wield real power in the 118th Congress. The defining dynamic for House Republicans, who have a four-vote majority, may be the push and pull between the far right and the rest of the Republican conference.
Here is a closer look at the fractious House Republican caucus:
Of the 222 House Republicans, more than 50 lawmakers explicitly denied the 2020 election results, were supported by the House Freedom Fund during the midterms or both. The fund is the campaign arm of the House Freedom Caucus, a hard-line faction founded in 2015 that has often (but not always) aligned with former President Donald Trump, has tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and has opposed legislation to protect same-sex marriage rights.
Among them are the 20 Republicans who repeatedly voted against McCarthy for speaker, viewing him as insufficiently conservative and too cozy with the Washington establishment.
More than 50 representatives have co-sponsored articles of impeachment against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, so far this session. Hard-line Republicans intent on attacking the Biden administration see Mayorkas as the face of failures at the border.
Some far-right lawmakers and those who have embraced conspiracy theories have landed seats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, the main investigative organ in the House. They will be in a position to shape inquiries into the Biden administration and on other issues.
Across the ideological spectrum are 119 of the 139 representatives who objected to certifying the 2020 Electoral College results, including all but one member of the House GOP leadership team.
Mainly tilting toward the other end of the spectrum are the 18 Republicans who represent districts that Joe Biden won in 2020. Many of these lawmakers, who include 11 newcomers, have indicated a greater willingness to work on bipartisan legislation than their peers.
And there are also 20 lawmakers who in 2021 bucked Trump and the rest of the party by voting to impeach him or to form an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
Departures and Newcomers
The caucus has shifted toward the right in other ways too, because of the departure of conservatives who bucked the party. Nearly three-quarters of Republican House members who did not run for reelection or who lost their primaries in 2022 voted to impeach Trump or to form the Jan. 6 commission. Almost all of that group also voted to certify the 2020 Electoral College results, in defiance of Trump and a vast majority of House Republicans.
Because of redistricting, it is not possible to do a one-to-one match for every seat, but some newcomers who align more closely with the far right were elected to seats previously held by Democrats or Republicans who voted to impeach Trump or to create the Jan. 6 commission.
One of five newcomers who opposed McCarthy’s speaker bid, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, took over a seat previously held by a Democrat, Charlie Crist, who ran against (and lost to) Ron DeSantis for Florida governor. Luna has explicitly said the 2020 election was stolen and has joined the House Freedom Caucus.
Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, who has also denied the 2020 election results, defeated Rep. Liz Cheney in the primary. Hageman was appointed by McCarthy to the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which will focus on finding evidence that the government has silenced and punished conservatives.
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, the member who screamed, “It’s your fault!” when Biden called for an end to the fentanyl crisis during the State of the Union address, replaced Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat who retired after redistricting diluted Democrats’ power in the Nashville-area district. Ogles also opposed McCarthy’s speaker bid and has explicitly said the 2020 election was stolen.
In all, more than one-third of the 41 Republican newcomers explicitly denied the results of the 2020 election, were supported by the House Freedom Fund or both.
About a half dozen political experts who spoke with The New York Times said that many members of the Republican caucus have learned there is value in being antagonistic and refusing to compromise — a harbinger of more chaos to come.
“Confrontation attracts attention, and, you know, the attention economy has always been important for politicians,” said Richard H. Pildes, a professor at New York University’s School of Law. “But traditionally you had to go through a series of gatekeepers or mediating institutions to get that kind of attention. The average member of the House wasn’t able to generate that kind of attention for themselves in a way that they, of course, now can very easily.”
Beyond attention, being confrontational appears to have financial incentives as well.
The internet has enabled a flood of money from small donors, which, Pildes said, has allowed politicians to bring in large sums without having to rely on large donors or party funds. Indeed, a Times investigation last year found that objecting to the results of the 2020 Electoral College was politically profitable.
“We’ve come to recognize the role of more extremism and more outrage, provoking more attention, provoking more media coverage, provoking more small-donor contributions,” Pildes said. “And I think that’s part of the story here.”