After spending much of last week sitting through the 15 votes that it took for Republicans to elect Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House, Congress has turned to the task of filling the committees through which lawmakers carry out their work.
One member eager to get to work addressing the nation's national security concerns is sophomore Republican Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which stretches across a large portion of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I don't want to see the 118th Congress fall down into chaos," Gonzales told Newsweek. "There's a lot of priorities that we've got to get done for the nation's business."
Following last week's events, Gonzales stood as the only Republican to side with Democrats in voting against the rules package that governs how the chamber operates.
He told Newsweek his vote was made in order to avoid "that same chaotic situation every other month" after McCarthy made concessions to the hard-line Freedom Caucus, including allowing any one member to initiate a vote to remove him as Speaker at any time.
In addition to concerns around governance, Gonzales stressed in a number of media appearances that broader budget cuts demanded by members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus could result in a potential reduction in defense spending that would jeopardize U.S. national security.
Gonzales is not the only Republican congressman to raise concerns about this Congress' ability to respond to national security concerns.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Michael McCaul of Texas, House Armed Services Committee Lead Mike Rogers Alabama, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Lead Mike Turner of Ohio, all Republicans, released a joint statement last week expressing their support for McCarthy, saying, "We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk."
Gonzales, a Navy veteran, often focuses his legislative efforts on matters pertaining to defense and national security, specifically veterans' affairs as well as the U.S.-Mexico border, along which his District lies. He has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden's handling of the border crisis.
His involvement in these issues has placed Gonzales in a position where he often works with members across the aisle, and he serves as a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. But he said some of these bipartisan working groups will likely struggle to have influence in this Congress.
"I'll be pretty blunt," Gonzales told Newsweek. "A lot of these caucuses, especially the bipartisan ones, are the first ones to fold, they're the first ones to cave, they're the first ones to give in. They talk a big game, but you know, it takes some willpower to hold the line if you will."
"This notion that some bipartisan caucus is going to come save the day, we're going to be waiting a long time," he added. "It takes leadership within those caucuses to kind of craft a message that makes sense and also pick your battles."
On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan of New York, an Army veteran, told Newsweek he found it "deeply concerning" to see calls for "broad brush" spending cuts to national security and defense during a time of increased tensions with Russia and China.
Ryan said he wouldn't mind seeing debate over the funds designated to certain defense programs, but that the broad federal spending caps demanded by the Freedom Caucus does not provide for "nuance," and could be "a very dangerous thing."
We have to have adults in the room in both parties that will say national security and defense are bigger than party and bigger than intra-party bickering.
"I always go back to my friends that are still deployed around the world, what kind of message that sends to them," Ryan told Newsweek. "You're literally risking your life right now, and here in Washington there are some signals being sent from the Freedom Caucus that we don't have your back."
Ryan, who entered Congress in September 2022, a little less than two years after Gonzales did in January 2021, said he is "hopeful" that bipartisan working groups will be able to get things done in this Congress.
While their expectations of these groups as a whole may differ, each agreed that one particular bipartisan caucus comprised of military veterans may be able to play an effective role in legislating around nation security issues in the 118 Congress—the For Country Caucus.
"I think there's an opportunity there with that caucus to be able to pull people together and talk about veterans' issues and national security, which I think is important, in a bipartisan manner," said Gonzales, who co-chairs the caucus, 'these areas that are less contentious and more focused on what are our nation's problems and how do we solve them."
Ryan said that the For Country Caucus stands as an opportunity to "build trust across party lines." He noted that he and newly elected Republican Representatives John James of Michigan and Wesley Hunt of Texas all attended West Point together. He expects that they will be able to work together toward addressing U.S. national security.
"We have to have adults in the room in both parties that will say national security and defense are bigger than party and bigger than intra-party bickering," Ryan told Newsweek. "We have to figure out how to make these groups work."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alex J. Rouhandeh serves as Newsweek's congressional correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. Over his tenure with ... Read more
