Roll Call Quotes Casey Higgins on Lobbying as a Republican in a House with a Slim Dem Majority

For its article “Lobbyists with ties to House GOP see fortunes rising,” Roll Call quoted Akin Gump senior policy advisor Casey Higgins on the 117th Congress and the changed dynamic due to a narrower post-election Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.

The article notes that lobbyists with GOP backgrounds are seeing new opportunities after the Democrats lost at least 12 seats in the November election. Higgins, who served as Assistant to the Speaker for Policy and Trade Counsel for former Speaker Paul Ryan, said of this, “It’s going to be an entirely different ball game, and I think House Republicans are excited. And House Republican lobbyists like myself are excited.”

She said that, due to the smaller Democratic majority, more GOP representatives will fill seats on House committees, changing the legislative dynamic, adding, “It’s important to recognize, it’s not just the vote on the floor that matters, it’s kind of the whole process.”

On the topic of where power will reside in this House, Higgins said, “The moderates on both sides, they haven’t harnessed their power quite yet, but it’s growing. The Problem Solvers Caucus is often teased for not having solved any problems, but they’re gaining in their influence and they’re starting to figure it out.”

As to the question of whether House Republicans will use its power to force consensus or to create wedges between Democrats, she replied, “And the answer is both. What the business community needs to do is figure out, frankly, how to work with Republican lobbyists to make targeted, incremental changes where they can to improve legislation.”