Washington Reporter In our latest edition, we have an interview with Rep. Lisa
McClain about the House GOP’s priorities, Republican demands that the Biden
administration halt far-left financial regulations, Democratic election denial,
and much more!

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November 18, 2024

In this edition


[1] Interview: “Be present and engage”: House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain on
how Republicans can build on 2024’s successes
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[2] Heard on the Hill
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[3] “Three amigos” take their spots at House GOP table
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[4] Rep. French Hill demands Biden financial regulators “immediately cease all
ongoing rulemaking actions”
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[5] Democrats’ election denial takes center stage in Pennsylvania
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[6] Scoop: Julie Fedorchak spends six figures to grow House GOP majority
<[link removed]>
[7] Op-Eds: Comptroller Elise Nieshalla on getting America’s finances in order,
Michael Chamberlain on ongoing efforts to “Trump-proof” the administration,
Raul Lopez on why Marco Rubio was the right choice for Secretary of State, and
Jeremy Hunt and Garrett Exner on why Pete Hegseth was the right choice for the
Department of Defense
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[8] What we’re reading
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<[link removed]>
Both sides agree: NOW is the time to pass real PBM reform.

Rein in the middlemen pharmacy benefit managers and require them to increase
transparency, share discounts with seniors, and delink PBM profits from the
cost of medicines in Medicare.

Pass S. 2973 and S. 3430 today. Help America's seniors.

In our latest edition, we have an interview with Rep. Lisa McClain about the
House GOP’s priorities, Republican demands that the Biden administration halt
far-left financial regulations, Democratic election denial, and much more!






[1] Interview: “Be present and engage”: House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain on
how Republicans can build on 2024’s successes
By: Matthew Foldi

Michigan housed multiple competitive races in 2024, including for president,
Senate, and House — some musical chairs following picks by President Donald
Trump yielded the promotion of Rep. Lisa McClain to the number three job in the
House GOP majority.

The lawmaker spoke with the Washington Reporter shortly after her election as
the House GOP Chairwoman for the next Congress, and laid out her goals, which
include “helping get people what they want, putting the right people on the
right bus at the right time.”

McClain, a Detroit Lions fan, fancies herself a head coach — but she is
content to let Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump run the show.
For now, she wants to highlight Trump’s success in expanding the GOP’s base by
showcasing the party’s diversity.

Click HERE
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to read more from Rep. Lisa McClain, the House GOP’s new chairwoman, about her
vision for 2025 and beyond.

Finish Reading ➝
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[2]
Heard on the Hill

What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill – please send
us more tips <[link removed]>!

* Paragon enters PBM debate: The most influential conservative health care
focused think tankurged
<[link removed]>
Congress not to include anti-pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) legislation in the
lame duck. Paragon’s involvement was noteworthy, according to some Hill staff,
because Paragon’s team is set to play an influential role in the Trump
administration, with Brian Blase being considered for several leading health
care roles.
* We told you so: Over a week before Politico reported that President Donald
Trump was weighing picking Chris Wright as his Secretary of Energy,we told
readers <[link removed]>
as much; now, Trump’s selection of Wright is official, and we are hearing rave
reviews about him from the energy industry. “Chris is a fantastic champion for
American energy and will be a great addition to the Trump administration,” one
industry leader told us. “After years of energy pessimism, Wright’s ‘zero
energy poverty’ philosophy is a breath of fresh air and will increase human
prosperity and opportunity for all.” Wright, it’s worth noting, is also good
friends with Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to helm the Interior Department —
another Trump selection that we have only heard great things about.
* Congrats, Commissioner! President Donald Trump announced that FCC
Commissioner Brendan Carr will take over the commission and serve as its
chairman; we interviewed Carr at length about his priorities, Elon Musk, and
the government’s failure to supply rural broadband — read thathere
<[link removed]>
.
* Last hurrah for Durbin: Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) is using one of his
final days as Judiciary Committee Chairman to hold a hearing, not on judges,
immigration, crime, or the border, but on credit cards, a longstanding
obsession of the Illinois senator. A Republican on the committee told us “we
don’t know why [Durbin] is doing it but it is much better to waste time on this
than on confirming more of Biden’s lunatic judges.”
* Fresenius Kabi and the left: With Republicans taking power, we are hearing
from Hill sources that the firms that spent the last few years aligned with the
left will face some serious questions from the new majority. One Hill aide who
works on healthcare issues said, “companies like Fresenius Kabi whose employees
and PACgave
<[link removed]>
more thansix figures to Kamala and Democrats and the DSCC should be prepared
for questions.”
* Big leagues in Poland: Our reporting about how Poland’s prime minister,
Donald Tusk, is singing a different tune about President Donald Trump, took off
like wildfire in the Polish media landscape. One of the country’s most popular
TV shows covered our reporting.
* Raising the Barr: Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.), one of the leading candidates
to chair the Financial Services Committee, is giving out “Make Financial
Services Great Again” hats as part of his pitch. This cycle, Barr gave over
$2.6 million the the NRCC this cycle, $500,000 directly to candidates, and
raised an additional $650,000 for candidates into the Scalise Leadership Fund.
We interviewed Barr about his problems with the Biden administration’s Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Read thathere
<[link removed]>
.

Share ➝ <[link removed]>


[3] “Three amigos” take their spots at House GOP table
By: Matthew Foldi

Incoming Reps. Brandon Gill, Brian Jack, and Riley Moore aren’t sworn in yet,
but they’ve already been dubbed by GOP strategists as the “three amigos” — a
trio of young conservatives, committed to President Donald Trump’s agenda. The
trio is already ubiquitous on the Hill, and is now poised to punch well above
its weight-class in the next Congress.


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Moore and Jack won contested elections to serve on the Elected Leadership
Committee (ELC) and as the freshman class’s representative on the Steering
Committee, respectively. Gill, a former conservative journalist, had the field
to himself in his bid to become the freshman class’s president.

Observers of the House note the three have complementary skill sets. A former
Hill staffer and current state Treasurer in West Virginia, Moore has a deep
knowledge of policy and process. A longtime aide to both former Speaker Kevin
McCarthy and to Trump, Jack knows the politics of the GOP and Washington, D.C.
better than some veteran legislators. Gill is practically conservative media
royalty — he’s married to Danielle D’Souza and founded theD.C. Enquirer, a
conservative media platform, before running for office, making him a natural
advocate for the class in the right-leaning press.

Click HERE
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to read more about some of the incoming freshman Republicans who won another
round of elections last week to earn extra leadership roles.

Finish Reading ➝
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[4]
Rep. French Hill demands Biden financial regulators “immediately cease all
ongoing rulemaking actions”
By: Matthew Foldi

Rep. French Hill (R., Ark.) demanded that the Biden administration’s
financial regulators “immediately cease all ongoing rulemaking actions and
suspend the proposal or promulgation of any regulations” in a new letter to
multiple agencies.

Hill expressed Americans’ discontent with the Biden administration's
“excessive regulatory overreach” and the need to abandon “a politicized
regulatory agenda,” especially in the wake of President Donald Trump’s
convincing victory, in a letter addressed to the Treasury Department, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve, National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal
Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Click HERE
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to read more about Republicans’ demands that Biden’s financial regulators halt
any radical regulations during their final days in office.

Finish Reading ➝
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[5] Democrats’ election denial takes center stage in Pennsylvania
By: Matthew Foldi

Democrats, including defeated Sen. Bob Casey (D., Penn.), made opposing
election denialism a centerpiece of their 2024 campaigns — now, they are openly
defying the law in a doomed attempt to keep Casey in office.

Following President Donald Trump’s narrow 2020 loss, Casey demanded that
Trump respect “the peaceful transfer of power”; but the disgracednepo baby
senator
<[link removed]>,
who lost to Republican Dave McCormick, is teaming up with Vice President Kamala
Harris and Marc Elias to force a costly recount, which experts acknowledge will
not change the reality that he lost.

In Bucks County, Casey donors
<[link removed]> such as Commissioner
Diane Ellis-Marseglia, are defying the law and the state Supreme Court to count
ballots that don't have signatures on them, CNN’s Jake Tapperreported
<[link removed]>
.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about the Democrats’ latest foray into election denialism.

Finish Reading ➝
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<[link removed]>
Both sides agree: NOW is the time to pass real PBM reform.

Rein in the middlemen pharmacy benefit managers and require them to increase
transparency, share discounts with seniors, and delink PBM profits from the
cost of medicines in Medicare.

Pass S. 2973 and S. 3430 today. Help America's seniors.


[6] Scoop: Julie Fedorchak spends six figures to grow House GOP majority
By: Matthew Foldi

North Dakota’s top vote-getter in 2024 spent much of the year aiding
Republican Party candidates in top races across the country.

Incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak donated six figures of campaign cash to efforts
to elect Republicans this cycle, including $25,000 to the National Republican
Congressional Committee (NRCC) and tens of thousands of dollars more to
Republican candidates and recount efforts, her team told theWashington Reporter.

“Keeping and growing our House majority was essential to delivering the
conservative solutions we need for North Dakotans and the American people,”
Fedorchak told theReporter. “I can’t wait to get to work and help President
Donald Trump deliver on his America First Agenda.”

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more about incoming-Rep. Julie Fedorchak’s nationwide efforts to grow
the House majority.

Finish Reading ➝
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[7] Op-Ed: Comptroller Elise Nieshalla: Restoring America’s financial solvency
By: Elise Nieshalla

As state financial officers from across the country responsible for
overseeing key elements of our states’ fiscal wellbeing, we have grave concerns
regarding the $36 trillion national debt. In 2025, we urge President-elect
Donald Trump and Congress to make restoring America’s financial solvency a “Day
One” priority for the sake of our states and the country.

We are calling on them to address the national debt by developing and
implementing a plan to restore America’s financial position by 2026, when we
will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our Declaration of Independence — and
start taking action immediately.

Click HERE
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to read more from Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla about how America can
get its finances in order under unified Republican control.


Finish Reading ➝
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[8]
Op-Ed: Michael Chamberlain: ‘Trump-Proofing’ is nothing new for the
Biden-Harris administration
By: Michael Chamberlain

My organization, Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), was hip to
“Trump-proofing” before it was popular.

Suddenly, Trump-proofing is all over the news. President Joe Biden will spend
his last months in office Trump-proofinghis legacy
<[link removed]>
. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.) called a special session of the legislature to
Trump-proofthe state
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. Something similar may happen inWashington
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.

But such efforts have been going on for months, if not years, inside the
Biden-Harris administration. The difference is they were quieter. They were
also constitutionally questionable. The idea was to insulate the (presumably
partisan) federal bureaucracy from attempts by any future administration they
opposed to halt or undo initiatives introduced by a friendly administration. In
other words, to thwart the will of the majority that voted in the new
administration.

Back in August, the Daily Caller reported
<[link removed]>
that PPT had discovered through FOIA documents that the Department of Justice
(DOJ) was using Schedule A hiring authority to bypass normal merit-based hiring
procedures to load DOJ with new, assumably activist, career appointees who
would be an impediment to a Trump administration.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from Michael Chamberlain about the highly partisan efforts that
the Biden administration is undertaking to “Trump-proof” the federal government
before January.

Finish Reading ➝
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[9] Op-Ed: Raul Lopez: Marco Rubio is the Right Man to Lead the State
Department
By: Raul Lopez

The American people have spoken and have sent a clear message: the Washington
status quo needs to go.

Besides getting the economy back on track, the Trump administration has a
terrific opportunity to turn the page on the failed Biden administration’s
foreign policies that have made our country and our world more dangerous.

President Trump is off to a great start by nominating Sen. Marco Rubio (R.,
Fla.) to lead the State Department.

Click HERE
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to read more from Raul Lopez about why Senator Marco Rubio is the perfect
choice to be America’s next Secretary of State.

Finish Reading ➝
<[link removed]>



[10] Op-Ed: Jeremy Hunt and Garrett Exner: Pete Hegseth has the experience
that matters
By: Jeremy Hunt and Garrett Exner

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Afghanistan and Iraq veteran Pete
Hegseth to be the next Secretary of Defense last week. Within hours of the
announcement, much of the media and the “coastal-expert class” began to mock
the nomination. The much-repeated claim was that Hegseth was too inexperienced
to lead the greatest military in the world. These overtures contrast with the
words of many grassroots veteran organizations who see in Hegseth one of their
own.

The truth is to millions of American veterans, like us, the criticisms
leveled against Hegseth’s nomination — that he has not worked in the defense
industry nor in the Pentagon itself — are the exact reasons why he may just be
right person for the job. This specific claim of “inexperience” reveals how
little most of the media and Washington, D.C. insiders value military service
below the rank of general.

Click HERE
<[link removed]>
to read more from Jeremy Hunt and Garrett Exner about why Pete Hegseth is the
best pick to run the Department of Defense.

Finish Reading ➝
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[11] What we’re reading

RealClearPolicy
<[link removed]>
: Could the DOJ Cause Another Housing Bubble? by Jack Yoest.

Washington Free Beacon
<[link removed]>
: Soros-Backed Dark Money Giant Bankrolled the Fiscal Sponsor of US-Designated
Terror Financier Samidoun, Tax Forms Show, by Andrew Kerr.

National Review <[link removed]>: Jack
Smith’s Exit, by Andrew McCarthy.

The Spectator
<[link removed]>:
Ireland has a suicidal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, by Ian O’Doherty.

Town Hall
<[link removed]>
: My Christmas Wish List: Cuts from DOGE, by Bonnie Glick.

Daily Wire
<[link removed]>
: Gold Star Families Reflect on Veterans Day with Stories of Service and
Sacrifice, by John Bickley and Georgia Howe.




****




About the Washington Reporter

We created the Washington Reporter to give Republicans in Congress an outlet
for insights to help you succeed, and to cover the toughest policy fights that
don't get the attention they deserve. We hope you'll send us tips, story ideas,
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