Rep. Huizenga makes his case to lead the Financial Services Committee

In our latest edition, Rep. Bill Huizenga lays out his vision for the Financial Services Committee, we stand our ground on Pete Hegseth’s nomination, and much more!

December 9, 2024

In this edition

1. Interview: Rep. Bill Huizenga’s case to chair the Financial Services Committee: “It’s not my job to be friends with regulators. It's to hold them accountable.”

2. Heard on the Hill

3. Exclusive: Rep. Tim Walberg probes Biden administration’s elevation of self-proclaimed “revolutionary” “woke administrator”

4. Scoop: Rep. Stephanie Bice donated $1 million+ to flip House

5. Exclusive: How Michigan Republicans flipped the state for Trump

6. Editorial: Confirm Pete Hegseth for a strong national defense

7. Op-Eds: Rep. Marc Molinaro on why Sean Duffy is the perfect pick to run the Department of Transportation, Bonnie Glick and Erik Bethel on how the new AI Czar David Sacks can power America’s emerging technology, Joel Thayer on the TikTok court ruling, and Zach Thapar and Alex Titus on why Linda McMahon will excel at the Department of Education

8. What we’re reading

In our latest edition, Rep. Bill Huizenga lays out his vision for the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Tim Walberg shares an exclusive about his work on a self-described “woke administrator,” Rep. Stephanie Bice shares her 2024 campaign activity, we stand our ground on Pete Hegseth’s nomination, and much more!

Interview: Rep. Bill Huizenga’s case to chair the Financial Services Committee: “It’s not my job to be friends with regulators. It's to hold them accountable.”

by Matthew Foldi

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R., Mich.) has served on every Financial Services Committee (FSC) subcommittee — and next Congress, he wants to run the committee, he told the Washington Reporter in an interview.

Huizenga, who praised President Donald Trump’s economic cabinet nominees as “smart, highly qualified, loyal people who have an understanding of the legislative process but who are not afraid to massively shake it up as needed,” has seen the crippling effects that regulations can have on small businesses like his family’s own in real estate — and he has plans to roll back a series of Biden-era regulations.

“First and foremost, have got to start with cleanup on aisle three,” he said. “This has been a huge problem having Gary Gensler, Rohit Chopra, the FDIC, sort of alphabet soup of all the regulators who have been really hampering our ability to grow everything from the climate disclosure rule that we did a tremendous amount of work on, which even the SEC has realized they needed to pause.”

Heard on the Hill

• Congratulations are in order! David Sacks, who introduced Mark Cuban to the Washington Reporter, was named as President Donald Trump’s AI Czar; we are confident that he will do a better job than Kamala Harris did in that role. Bonnie Glick and Erik Bethel just published an op-ed with us about why Sacks is the man for the job.

• TikTok lands conservative law firm: Jones Day, the powerful conservative law firm, is representing TikTok and ByteDance in their lawsuit against the Biden administration. “TikTok is a Chinese Communist Party spy app that harms American children,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) said of the development.

• Drowning in debt: Gov. Andy Beshear (D., Ky.) was picked to helm the Democrats’ gubernatorial efforts ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid of his own. His state party is currently over $40,000 in debt.

• Negotiation time: Senate Democrats made a counter offer to Republicans on the potential end of year health care package, including a new pay for using PBM reform and not the Biden administration’s home health staffing mandate, along with increased funding for community health centers. The GOP counteroffer on health care was sent back to Democrats; it included PBM delinking for Medicare.

• Incoming education hearing: The House’s Oversight and Education and Workforce Committees are debating over who will get to grill the Biden Department of Education over its disproportionate scrutiny of faith-based and career colleges, advocates in the field tell the Reporter.

• End of an era: Run GenZ, the organization leading the way to elect young Republicans to state and local offices across America, hosted its conference in Crystal City this weekend. The group’s longtime executive director, Mason Morgan, got multiple standing ovations when announcing that he is stepping down after helping grow the organization into a powerhouse.

• Stefanik sendoff: Virtually the entire House GOP conference made its way to Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R., N.Y.) Christmas party last week; it’s her last one before she takes off to New York to defend America and western civilization against the hordes at the United Nations.

• America First’s big night: America First Legal’s Christmas party saw conservative heavyweights like none other than Mark Levin come to Butterworth’s on the Hill. The group is poised to be a power player in the second Trump term.

Exclusive: Rep. Tim Walberg probes Biden administration’s elevation of self-proclaimed “revolutionary” “woke administrator”

by Matthew Foldi

Rep. Tim Walberg (R., Mich.), one of the GOP’s top education policymakers, wants to know why a self-proclaimed “revolutionary” and “woke administrator” was, following congressional scrutiny, shuffled from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Education

Kelisa Wing, the Department of Defense’s Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Department of Defense Education Activity, was hired by the Department of Education, where she served as a senior advisor to Secretary Miguel Cardona, Walberg noted in a letter to Cardona, first obtained by the Washington Reporter.

“Ms. Wing has risen to notoriety due to her inflammatory statements, social media posts, and controversial education positions,” Walberg wrote. “Ms. Wing promoted gender ideology and sought to use her position to promote her woke ideologies through her own personal writings.”

Scoop: Rep. Stephanie Bice donated $1 million+ to flip House

by Matthew Foldi

Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.), the outgoing vice chair of the House’s Main Street Caucus, has given more than $1 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and directly to House Republican candidates over the past two cycles.

Bice, who flipped a Democratic-held seat in 2020, has quickly emerged as a leader in the House GOP conference. Since mounting her first campaign, she has raised $8,251,841, her team told the Washington Reporter.

The Oklahoma lawmaker has donated seven figures to her current and incoming colleagues, including Reps. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Ken Calvert (R., Calif.), Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), incoming Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Gabe Evans, and more; she donated to 67 House GOP candidates in total during the 2024 cycle.

Exclusive: How Michigan Republicans flipped the state for Trump

By Matthew Foldi

Republicans are regaining control of Michigan. Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) is the new chair of the House GOP Conference; the state voted in favor of President Donald Trump; and Republicans flipped one of the most expensive House seats in America, all while the GOP shattered the Democrats’ state legislative trifecta, making Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D., Mich.), a potential presidential candidate in 2028, an all-but lame duck governor.

Earlier this year, however, Republican wins in Michigan were unpredictable. Debt, building disputes, and lawsuits marred the Michigan Republican Party’s apparatus as November approached. Dueling GOP chairmen in the state each lay claim to the party’s apparatus. Internal strife lessened in 2023 after a never before reported meeting of Republicans in the state’s Congressional delegation.

Editorial: Confirm Pete Hegseth for a strong national defense

by Washington Reporter editors

Senate Republicans should confirm Pete Hegseth to be President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense because he's the right man for the job, it would be unprecedented to reject the president's choice, and because Hegseth understands how to deter our enemies.

While the media lynch mob has singled out Hegseth for smears, it would be a calamitous mistake for the Senate to go along with Jane Mayer and reject this well-qualified nominee.

First, Hegseth is absolutely qualified to lead the Department of Defense (DOD) in a way that puts American interests first. He served with distinction, and his career after leaving the military shows he has the knowledge and tenacity needed to be an effective secretary. Hegseth’s well-known leadership of veterans organizations is as notable as his defense of soldiers who were charged with politically-motivated accusations by a weaponized bureaucracy. This experience gives him unique insight into how the bureaucracy operates and how to keep politics out of the process, especially when soldiers are the victims.

Op-Ed: Rep. Marc Molinaro: Why Sean Duffy is a perfect pick to run the Department of Transportation

by Rep. Marc Molinaro

As a former congressman and advocate for rural America, Sean Duffy comes as an inspired choice for Secretary of the Department of Transportation. His appointment signals a renewed focus on bridging the transportation and infrastructure gaps that have long hindered economic growth in communities across the country.

During his time in Congress, Duffy earned a reputation as a pragmatic policymaker who understood the unique challenges facing rural and suburban communities. Representing Wisconsin’s 7th District — one of the largest rural districts in the country — Duffy developed a firsthand understanding of how critical infrastructure is to economic vibrancy. His commitment to modernizing roads, bridges, and railways while advocating for equitable transportation funding resonates with Americans who often feel left behind by federal priorities skewed toward urban centers.

Op-Ed: Bonnie Glick and Erik Bethel: David Sacks will power America's emerging technologies to new heights

by Bonnie Glick and Erik Bethel

President Donald Trump appointed investor and his longtime ally David Sacks as the administration’s Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency “czar.” This new role underscores two key points: first, the critical importance of emerging technologies to the administration's agenda, as maintaining leadership in these areas is critical to staying ahead of China; and second, the lack of an existing position in Washington, D.C. that combines leadership over these two pivotal domains of competitiveness.

Under President Joe Biden, Washington has been largely disengaged on the critical fronts of AI and cryptocurrency. In October 2024, the Biden administration finally issued a lengthy memorandum on advancing U.S. leadership in AI. The document, spanning over 10,000 words, ultimately concludes with generalities including the obvious point that innovation in AI will rely on the private sector. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency has seen little proactive engagement, with the administration displaying limited understanding of the technology and facing internal resistance marked by strong opposition within Biden’s team.

Enter Donald Trump and his newly appointed czar, David Sacks. Sacks embodies the spirit of emerging technologists and innovators, consistent with the type of bold picks in his new administration. Much like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Sacks signals Trump’s belief that individuals with a track record of business success can bring much-needed efficiency and effectiveness to government.

Op-Ed: Joel Thayer: TikTok goes the clock for divestment

by Joel Thayer

2024 was a big year for social media litigation. Leveraging their defense under the First Amendment, social media companies have been wildly successful in vacating laws that dare apply any form of restrictions to their curation practices — even in the context of protecting kids.

TikTok itself was successful in defending against Montana’s law to ban the app within the state given its data collection practices and clear relationship with the Chinese government. Even though a federal district court agreed that Montana’s measure likely regulates conduct, not speech, it nonetheless found the First Amendment "implicated" in Montana's law. The judge reasoned that the law violated the First Amendment because Montana supposedly has no substantial interest in protecting its citizens against foreign espionage and the law doesn't leave "ample alternative channels for communication."

But TikTok’s legal challenge to Congress’s Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act changed that.

Op-Ed: Zach Thapar and Alex Titus: The Left has run America’s education system into the ground and Linda McMahon is the perfect person to fix it

by Zach Thapar and Alex Titus

President Donald J. Trump announced recently that his transition co-chair and long-time friend Linda McMahon will serve as his Secretary of Education, a critical role to help carry out the president’s historic education agenda.

By selecting McMahon, President Trump is putting a demonstrated leader and well-regarded patriot at the forefront of some of the country’s most pressing issues, delivering an early win for American voters.

As the Biden administration wraps up, the state of American education is concerning, to say the least.

What we’re reading

• The Spectator: Trump is already the diplomat-in-chief, by Daniel DePetris.

• Wall Street Journal: Unions Bosses Keep Trying to Kill Wisconsin's Act 10, by Gov. Scott Walker.

• New York Times: How a Criminal With Close Ties to China Became a New York Power Broker, by Michael Forsythe, Bianca Pallaro, Jay Root and Benjamin Weiser.

• Washington Free Beacon: Top Neuropsychology Organizations Poised To Make ‘Equity, Justice, and Inclusion’ a Core Part of Training Guidelines, by Aaron Sibarium.

• National Review: The World’s Most Murderous Ophthalmologist Calls It Quits, by Jim Geraghty.

• New York Post: Daniel Penny acquitted in subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, by Ben Kochman and Kyle Schnitzer.