Conservatives Make Gains in GOP Congress

The full impact of the GOP’s new political clout swept across Capitol Hill on Wednesday, as House and Senate Republicans chose a phalanx of conservative leaders for the new Congress and pushed to finish the current lame-duck session by week’s end.

In the House, Republicans promoted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), already one of the most powerful members in Congress, to the No. 2 post of majority leader. They also installed several of his deputies in other key posts.

In the Senate, Republicans prepared to assume control in January by picking Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as majority leader. That gives him another shot at a job he lost in mid-2001 when Sen. James M. Jeffords’ decision to defect from the GOP and become an independent gave Democrats control of the Senate.

The newly empowered GOP leadership pledged to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the White House. And Republican lawmakers are looking to their leaders to deliver legislative accomplishments now that the party will be in charge of both branches of Congress as well as the White House.

“No excuses now; we have it all,” said Sen.-elect Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). “We have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

“It puts a lot of pressure on us -- but it’s the right kind of pressure,” said Sen.-elect Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

GOP leaders face the challenge of balancing their loyalty to President Bush against competing political interests of their rank and file. And they will have to manage tensions between the conservative-dominated House and the Senate, where moderate Republicans have more sway.

Even in the flush of victory, there were small signs of such strains. House Republicans are resisting administration pressure to pass a terrorism insurance bill that includes liability provisions they oppose. The measure would provide a federal safety net to the insurance industry for terrorist attacks, and Bush has warned that failing to pass it would hurt the economy.

This dispute notwithstanding, Republicans are under heavy pressure to forge a united front.

“It is more than a honeymoon,” said Jade West, a business lobbyist who until recently was an aide to the Senate Republican leadership. “Even those who are antsy -- there’s no way they are going to pick a public fight with the president of the United States.”

And even in this week’s lame-duck session, where Democrats nominally retain majority control of the Senate, Republicans have flexed their political muscle. They jammed through the House on Wednesday the homeland security bill written largely on the president’s terms. Although many expected the lame-duck session to last until Thanksgiving or beyond, Republicans are pushing hard -- with apparent success -- to wrap it up by Friday.

That expedited schedule cuts short Democrats’ last hurrah and puts off several major decisions until next year when the GOP has more power.

In the House, where Republicans will hold at least five more seats next year than they do now, J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is expected to be reelected House speaker in January.

The rest of the House GOP leadership team was in for changes because Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) is retiring. DeLay is moving up from his current No. 3 post of House majority whip.

Other leadership positions changed hands, as Republicans elected Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri to succeed DeLay as whip; Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio to be Republican Conference chairwoman; and Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds of New York to be chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. All three are DeLay lieutenants who enjoyed his support in defeating rivals for their posts.

“DeLay is the Vito Corleone of the House,” said Steve Moore, head of the conservative political group Club for Growth. “Everyone now in leadership basically was put there by him.”

A feisty conservative, DeLay plays a hardball game of politics: His prolific fund-raising and aggressive arm-twisting have earned him the nickname “The Hammer.”

DeLay made a joking reference to that moniker Wednesday after Blunt won the whip’s job. DeLay handed his successor a velvet-encased hammer, saying Blunt had a “softer touch.”

DeLay’s skills served him well in the whip’s job, which he won after Republicans took control of the House in the 1994 elections. As whip, DeLay has been responsible for corralling votes and maintaining party discipline in the House.

As majority leader, he will have a different set of responsibilities, including setting the legislative schedule and coordinating the work of powerful committee chairmen. A key question is whether DeLay will also take on the leader’s traditional role as party spokesman to the media and the public.

It may be politically risky for the GOP if DeLay raises his public profile. Known for his often provocative rhetoric and unrelenting partisanship, he has been depicted by Democrats as the epitome of right-wing extremism.

Some Republicans say the question is moot because all GOP leaders in Congress will be eclipsed by Bush.

“The prevailing winds are now blowing in from the White House,” said John Feehery, press secretary for Hastert. “Our party spokesman is the president for all intents and purposes.”

DeLay also may be called upon to mediate potential intraparty tensions between Bush’s interest in broadening the GOP base with a more centrist agenda and conservative activists who may want the party to use its congressional majority to take a sharper turn to the right.

“That’s the big challenge -- balancing the go-slow approach of the White House versus the conservative sprinters who want to rush to the goal line,” Moore said.

The GOP’s leadership ranks in the next House will include two Californians. Rep. Christopher Cox of Newport Beach was reelected chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and Rep. John T. Doolittle of Rocklin was chosen secretary of the Republican Conference.

Senate Republicans, after electing Lott majority leader, chose Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as their new No. 2 leader. McConnell is a conservative best known for his staunch opposition to the campaign finance reform measure that finally passed Congress earlier this year. The job of assistant GOP leader came open because term-limit rules forced Don Nickles of Oklahoma to step down. Also joining the GOP leadership team was Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) as policy chairman.

Although that makes for a solidly conservative leadership team, it will still be harder for the Senate -- with its loose rules and strong minority rights -- to easily pass the kind of conservative agenda the House is likely to produce.

Senate Democrats by acclamation reelected their leadership team for the new Congress, headed by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

House Democrats meet today and are expected to elect Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco as minority leader.