REPUBLICANS POLISHING UP THEIR RESUMES Some House Republicans who are leaving the Hill come January have already pushed for plum spots in the next Trump administration. So far, only one member has had outright success. While Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer was picked to be Donald Trump’s incoming Labor secretary, the administration also received resumes from the likes of outgoing members like Reps. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) and Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), both Navy veterans.
Then there’s Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who chose not to run for reelection after redistricting made his former district a blue seat. He was aiming to serve as Transportation secretary, but Trump tapped former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) for DOT. But a different GOP source tells us he could be considered for a slightly lower-level position in the administration — whether he wants it or not is another story.
We’ve also heard that Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), who also lost a competitive swing seat, is trying to figure out his next steps. He is casting a wide net as he sees whether there is an administration job for him, and is even entertaining the possibility of filling the seat Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is vacating, according to three people who were granted anonymity to speak on the situation. The second option may be a little bit more complicated; he’d essentially need the blessing of Stefanik and county chairs to go for a seat where he could be seen as a carpetbagger.
The slim margin of success, at least so far, for outgoing members looking to swing over into the executive branch has a simple enough explanation: Most of the departing Republicans are first-term centrists who ran in battleground districts, meaning they often had to publicly distance themselves from Trump to help boost their reelection bids. So they don’t have particularly close working relationships with the president-elect and his team.
There’s been a higher rate of success for those who stayed in the House, even with the chamber’s incredibly thin margin. Even though Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had to withdraw from consideration for attorney general, two other House Republicans are all but set to head to the new administration: Stefanik and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.).
Speaking of post-Congress jobs, we are still waiting to hear what former speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C) is aiming to do next. He told reporters several weeks back that he is "keeping a list of people I want to call in January" about getting a job after he leaves the Hill, while noting that he has to “wait” because of congressional ethics rules. And as our colleague Katherine Tully-McManus noted at the time, that is a strong sign that McHenry wants a job in the financial services realm — because the restriction is on conflict of interest, not on job hunting altogether. — Olivia Beavers GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Dec. 2, where the holiday party season is starting. If you see something, leak something (to us, preferably with video).
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