Now that Republicans have picked Steve Scalise to be their nominee for speaker of the House, here are the players who'll be helping to drive his health care policy agenda if he wins in the floor vote, Victoria writes.

Francis Brooke, policy director in the Majority Leader's office

• Brooke is well known in GOP policy circles, having worked for Mitch McConnell and, later, as an energy adviser in the Trump White House.
• He's Scalise's lead on energy issues and would likely be a big player in any future negotiation on environmental permitting.
• The former pitcher on the Northwestern baseball team has a lengthy resume and got lots of plaudits from the folks we've been talking to around town.

Alye Mlinar, former policy advisor in the Majority Leader's office

• It was announced last week that Mlinar is joining Mehlman Consulting, a bipartisan lobbying firm whose health care clients include American Medical Association, Humana, AHIP, Blue Cross Blue Shield and HCA.
• Mlinar's departure leaves an opening for a new health policy staffer to be hired. Lobbyists we consulted said they expected someone from the outside.
• But Mlinar will likely be influential in pushing for health policy priorities on the Hill, say lobbyists we consulted.
• She first joined Scalise in 2021 as a policy advisor in his Minority Whip office.
• Before that she worked as a health staffer for House Ways and Means, where she focused on health tax, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drugs and other policies.
• She's also been a policy analyst for the Senate Republican Policy Committee in the office of ex-Sen. Ben Sasse and a research associate for the Heritage Foundation.

Marty Reiser, principal of government relations at S-3 Group

• Reiser is the other powerful health lobbyist known to have Scalise's ear, say the lobbyists we consulted.
• He started in Scalise's personal office in 2014 and became his deputy policy director when Scalise became the Republican whip in 2017.
• He served as Scalise's policy director from 2020 to 2021 before leaving to join S-3 to help develop a health care and tax practice at the bipartisan lobbying firm.
• He also worked as a professional health staff member on Ways and Means for several years before joining Scalise.
• His work on the committee covered the ACA, health-related tax policy, employer sponsored insurance and Medicare policies, according to S-3's website.
• Reiser represents clients including Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Optometric Association, Horizon Therapeutics and Humana, per 2023 registered lobbyist filings.

Nick Sobczyk contributed to this report.