Speaker Mike Johnson could have the Home’s prime job — however it’s an anesthesiologist from Queens who would possibly quickly be essentially the most highly effective member of Congress.
Rep. Andy Harris, who has repped the japanese shore of Maryland since 2011, took on an elevated profile in September when he grew to become chairman of the Home Freedom Caucus, the GOP’s most conservative bloc.
With Republicans holding a razor-thin majority, the famously fractious assortment of two- to three-dozen GOP spending hawks may maintain outsized energy over President-elect Trump’s legislative agenda.
Harris, 67, is a MAGA diehard, however instructed The Submit he and his members intend to carry the road on runaway authorities spending.
“Whether or not that new spending comes within the type of tax aid or precise new spending, equivalent to a border wall,” Harris defined, sitting in his fifth-floor workplace within the Longworth Home constructing in Washington, DC, the place he retains three bibles and a portrait of Jesus painted by his mom. “It should be offset, as a result of it could actually’t lead to a internet enhance to the deficit.”
“We did it in Mr. Trump’s first time period, and we are going to do it if crucial within the second time period.” he added.
The eight-term Republican congressman was fast so as to add that he doesn’t anticipate there to be any main friction with the White Home — and believed the issues of his members could be taken critically.
In his 75-minute dialog with The Submit, Harris expressed confidence in Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and their new Division of Authorities Effectivity.
“The primary cross can be simply to look at the effectivity of the present workforce given the present workload, and since each he and Vivek had been in company America, they perceive that each company has to try this,” Harris mentioned.
The M.D. cheered President-elect Trump’s push for Greenland.
“There’s a whole lot of pure assets in Greenland that I believe could possibly be very helpful each for financial safety and for navy safety,” Harris mentioned. “Greenland has moved towards independence from Denmark over the past century. I don’t know why we will’t try to maneuver them additional over in our course and away from Europe.”
Like many conservatives, Harris was vital of Trump’s choose for Secretary of Labor, Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whose nomination acquired the backing of Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien.
“Her file in Congress, I don’t assume is in keeping with the mainstream Republican thought on labor points,” he mentioned.
He didn’t know what to make of Trump’s Eleventh-hour try and reverse bipartisan laws to power Chinese language firm Bytedance to divest from TikTok. The corporate is broadly considered as a nationwide safety risk due to its ties to the Chinese language Communist Get together.
“I don’t perceive . . . My first intuition could be that he would agree that the connection to the CCP is harmful,” Harris mentioned.
The Freedom Caucus doesn’t launch its official tally of members, however Harris mentioned the group has two-to three-dozen members — greater than sufficient for them to play kingmakers within the finances fights which lay forward in 2025.
Trump huddled with Harris and Freedom Caucus members at Mar-a-Lago Friday night — seemingly in anticipation of their coming affect.
An Eleventh hour funding deal to maintain the federal government open in December will solely preserve the lights on till March — at which level a brand new funding resolution should be discovered.
“I anticipate them to be extremely influential,” mentioned former Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, a one-time Freedom Caucus member now working at Liberty College in Lynchburg, VA. “The Freedom Caucus positions mirror the positions of the American individuals and significantly the individuals who voted for President Trump.”
Harris, 67, hails from Laurelton, Queens — a 20-minute drive from Trump’s childhood residence in leafy Jamaica Estates.
The graduate of Regis HS, the elite Catholic prep college in Manhattan, mentioned he didn’t miss the unhealthy outdated days of town.
“I keep in mind one morning I received on the prepare, and actually, there was a lifeless particular person on the prepare. And that particular person clearly will need to have been there for some time, as a result of that automobile actually smelled like no person went within the automobile,” recalled Harris.
Harris went on to review at medication at Johns Hopkins College and Hospital in Baltimore and later served as an affiliate professor there for almost three many years. He’s lived in Maryland since 1975.
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