House GOP leaders are striving to keep their slim majority intact despite disagreements over policy and process with the more open legislative system of the present GOP-led House of Representatives. The Parents’ Bill of Rights bill that passed the House recently with five Republicans against it, had been a GOP campaign promise, but illustrates the difficulty of maintaining harmony in a divided House. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) referred to the House GOP as a family, but admitted he would disagree, calling it ‘barely functioning.’
The House is expected to head into a high-stakes standoff with the White House over spending cuts as well as possible action on a border and immigration package next month. Moderate Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) has already delivered a few objections that have added extra complexity to the situation. With a narrow majority of 222 Republicans to 213 Democrats, each member’s opinion carries much more weight.
To get everyone on the same page, Speaker McCarthy has made an effort to decentralize power on the House floor by allowing bills to go through the committee process rather than being signed off on straight away. This satisfies the hardline Republican members that had opposed him for Speaker. He also held multiple closed door sessions on working together, which included a talk from the author of ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,’ Pat Lencioni, as well as a presentation from quarterback Drew Brees on working together as a team.
The legislation that did make it through included the Parents’ Bill of Rights that requires schools to make curriculum public and inform parents of violence incidents, but also included a controversial amendment that directed schools to notify parents if transgender girls and women were allowed to use restrooms that didn’t match their sex assigned at birth.
Though managing the congressional majority is a tough task for House GOP leaders, their efforts to foster mutual understanding emphasize the importance of collaboration and understanding to make progress. Keeping open dialogues and providing an environment where everyone can feel safe to voice their opinions is essential for the success of uniting this ‘dysfunctional family.’
