Rep. Trey Gowdy leaving the Capitol in 2015. Photo: Al Drago / CQ Roll Call
With increasing expectations of a Democratic wave in November's midterm elections, the Republican Party is facing a record number of retirements in the House of Representatives — and it’s only February 1. In perhaps the biggest tell, eight GOP committee chairs have announced their retirements from politics.
Why it matters: There is no surer sign of GOP fear of the midterm outcome — and no surer example of how even the most powerful jobs feel like a drag in this era of dysfunctional governance — than people in power racing for the exits.
Worth noting: The majority of the retiring committee chairs have been term-limited out of their positions. GOP rules limit House chairmen to six years, a Newt Gingrich-era relic of a rule designed to increase the power of the Speaker of the House that was carried over by John Boehner in 2010 before the GOP's midterm wave later that year.
But there's no telling if the term-limited chairs might have chosen to stay in the House had they been able to keep their powerful positions.
One more thing: Research indicates that the term limits rule limits the effectiveness of committee chairs and could make Congress function more poorly, per The Washington Post.
The chairmen heading for the exits:
Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Appropriations Committee, assumed position in January 2017
Bob Goodlatte (VA), Judiciary Committee, term-limited
Trey Gowdy (SC), Oversight Committee, assumed position in June 2017
Gregg Harper (MS), Administration Committee, assumed position in January 2017
Jeb Hensarling (TX), Financial Services Committee, term-limited
Ed Royce (CA), Foreign Affairs Committee, term-limited
Bill Shuster (PA), Transportation Committee, term-limited
Lamar Smith (TX), Science, Space, and Technology Committee, term-limited
A bonus exit: Rep. Diane Black left her position as chair of the Budget Committee earlier this month — which she assumed in January 2017 — to focus on her run for Tennessee governor this fall.
French President Emmanuel Macron said at a remarkably candid postgame for a small group of reporters last evening that his State Visit left him convinced President Trump will withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, and that the U.S. president wants to create "a series of new Trump's deals."
His big takeaway: "[Y]our president is a dealmaker. You always have to understand the rationale of your counterpoint. He's a dealmaker. So he wants to find a deal and he wants to find a deal under his condition."
"I think his experience with North Korea is that when you are very tough, you make the other side [move] and you can try to go to a good deal or a better deal. ... [S]o that's a strategy of an increasing tension."
At their White House press conference on Wednesday, Macron said he wanted "to work on a new deal with Iran," and Trump signaled openness.
Macron: "Nobody is a magician and will fix the situation overnight."
Why it matters: The "Trump's deals" concept — perhaps eventually covering Iran, climate and North Korea — echoes the U.S. president's vow on trade, where he wants to renegotiate big agreements on "America First" terms.
Hours after addressing Congress — and after two dinners, a press conference and several meetings with Trump — Macron sat down with a dozen or so journalists on couches in the George Washington University student center.
The 40-year-old president shook hands with each of the columnists and reporters on the way in, as scores of students craned for a glimpse behind barriers outside.
Macron began the 45-minute session, all in English, with: "So, I'm yours!"
Macron and Trump had such playful, touchy-feely interactions for cameras that a New York Times headline called it "Le Bromance."
But with the reporters, Macron was mostly clinical, saying about the aftermath of a U.S. withdrawal from Iran deal: "I want to be the honest broker of the situation."
Macron spoke with a clarity that's rare for an on-the-record meeting with a world leader, where diplomatic fog is more the norm. In that way, Macron was Trump-like: He just said what he thought.
Macron thinks Trump will get out of the Obama-era deal with Iran by a May 12 deadline "for domestic reasons":
"That's my view. I don't have any specific information. I'm not an insider. But my view is that there is a big risk he will leave."
"I tried to follow which kind of rationality he can respect. ... Your president made very strong statements to say this is an awful agreement, and so on and so on. We pushed. I tried to convince. I did my best."
"[W]hen a lot of people say President Trump is not predictable, I think exactly the opposite. He's very predictable. Look at the campaign commitment."
"[H]e repeated in his office ... [that it's] the worst deal ever, it's a nightmare, it was a catastrophe and so on."
When a columnist asked if Trump will have a "much more difficult time persuading North Korea to accept a deal if he does not honor the Iran deal," Macron replied:
"I agree with that. I used the same argument."
Be smart ... Macron had this take on U.S. vacillation on international agreements, including the Iran deal and the Paris climate accord: "It can work [in] the short term, but it's very insane [in] the mid- to long-term."
How it's playing ...WashPost above-the-fold headline: "Macron charms Congress in speech" ... L.A. Times A1 tease: "Macron challenges Trumpism."
