This decentralized approach is designed to avoid a repeat of the drama and multiple votes that came to a head in January’s Speaker’s race and reflect the spectrum of views within the Republican party.
Unlike the whip operation, which focuses on more immediate floor action, the Elected Leadership Committee looks several months down the road on broader issues like the southern border, energy security and inflation.
Each caucus has a different mission and approach though there is overlap of membership in the groups:
- The Republican Study Committee is policy-oriented and includes three quarters of GOP lawmakers.
- The Freedom Caucus is historically more combative.
- The Republican Main Street Caucus is considered centrist.
- The Republican Governance Group is more moderate.
- The Problem Solvers Caucus is bipartisan and includes lawmakers from both parties.
Speaker McCarthy had a picture of the Godfather’s Five Families meeting when the GOP groups first met. “It started every meeting with a laugh,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus.
“[Republicans] are talking more than we ever have. I don’t know if that would have been the case had everything gone just perfectly on January 3,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), chair of the Main Street Caucus.
Go deeper: Bloomberg Law offers a 15-minute podcast on McCarthy’s approach.
The bottom line: the debt limit vote will be a test of this new approach to lawmaking.