Roll Call Quotes Casey Higgins on Uncertainty Around House Speaker Mike Johnson

For its article “‘Curveball like no other:’ Johnson’s rise has K Street trying to keep up,” Roll Call quoted Akin lobbying & public policy senior counsel Casey Higgins. The article discusses the uncertainty, from lobbying firms’ standpoints, surrounding Mike Johnson (R-LA), who rose unexpectedly to Speaker of the House.

Casey, who worked for former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Assistant to the Speaker for Policy and Trade Counsel, said that, because so much goes through the Speaker’s office, it is important for his staff to understand the Speaker’s thinking and to know where there’s willingness to negotiate and where they will put their foot down, given that the Speaker cannot be everywhere at once.

She said, “It’s just a lot easier when you know how the people around you operate, and that goes both ways. Easier for a staffer when they’ve been with their boss for years and know how he thinks about things. And easier for a member when he knows that a staffer has produced on these levels before and can do so in a way that will be in the best interest of both the speaker and the conference.”