12/17/2024 --dailykos
Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, of Indiana, said Monday that she will focus her time in next year’s Congress on furthering Elon Musk’s mission to slash trillions of dollars in government spending and will not caucus with Republicans or sit on any committees. In her announcement, which was posted to social media, Spartz made clear that she’s still a member of the GOP but is taking these steps to avoid the “circuses” of her party.“I will stay as a registered Republican but will not sit on committees or participate in the caucus until I see that Republican leadership in Congress is governing,” Spartz said.“I do not need to be involved in circuses. I would rather spend more of my time helping @DOGE and @RepThomasMassie to save our Republic, as was mandated by the American people,” she added, referring to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency caucus will allegedly work in tandem with the toothless DOGE led by mega-billionaire Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.xI will stay as a registered Republican but will not sit on committees or participate in the caucus until I see that Republican leadership in Congress is governing. I do not need to be involved in circuses. I would rather spend more of my time helping @DOGE and @RepThomasMassie to... https://t.co/ZNju2jvNHk— Rep. Victoria Spartz (@RepSpartz) December 16, 2024Spartz’s decision confused some of her colleagues. But sources told Politico that her seemingly sudden announcement came after Spartz was passed over for a sought-after post on the House Ways and Means Committee.While Spartz waits until her party can begin “governing” efficiently, she said that she will spend her time focusing on Musk and Ramaswamy’s efforts to take a chainsaw to federal spending. But it’s unclear what effect, if any, she’ll have in the accompanying congressional caucus—especially because DOGE will have a subcommittee of its own, chaired by onetime 9/11 denialist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Despite no one understanding how the DOGE caucus will work, many Republicans (and some Democratic legislators) are foaming at the mouth for the chance to work with President-elect Donald Trump’s planned advisory committee. Trump, for his part, has said that the Musk-led group will advise him on how to slash public expenditures, while Musk has pledged to find as much as $2 trillion in spending to be cut. But again, as DOGE is a commission and not a government agency or department, it does not actually have any power.So it’s clear that Spartz’s decision to buck Republicans has less to do with her being willing to prioritize the health of the country and more to do with her petty quibbles with leadership.Don’t be misled: Spartz is a tried-and-true conservative. On Monday, she aligned herself with the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus and said that she supported the group’s proposal to crack down on immigration and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.xI fully support @freedomcaucus and @realDonaldTrump’s team two-step approach. We need time to deliver on major fiscal policy reforms with proper offsets.I will NOT vote for a rushed slush fund some in @HouseGOP would like to push to appease the swamp. We were elected to govern! https://t.co/sST8ROdmKU— Rep. Victoria Spartz (@RepSpartz) December 16, 2024But Spartz has, at times, butted heads with members of her party. When House Republicans, in January 2023, were working to elect a new House speaker, she repeatedly voted “present” instead of casting a ballot in former Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid.More recently, in November, Spartz issued a statement titled, “GOP Will Show Courage or Go to Hell,” where she slammed her party for its supposed lack of bravery.“Aristotle once said that courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. The American people gave us another chance to restore our Republic, but it might be our last chance,” the statement read. “If my party betrays the American people and does not show courage to stand up to the DC ‘money machine’ and address the looming fiscal calamity, we will not deserve another chance.”The immediate question following Spartz’s announcement on Monday was whether her decision would further imperil House Republicans’ already razor-thin vote margin. After the final House race was called, Republicans were slated to hold a five-seat majority in the chamber. But with former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz resigning after his failed bid for attorney general, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz set to resign to become national security adviser, and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik leaving to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, that number could shrink even further. Any uncertainty could make things especially difficult for the GOP caucus and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Spartz, for her part, may want to spend some of her newfound free time figuring out how to retain her office staff. According to the congressional database Legistorm, the congresswoman has a turnover rate of 3.5 times the 2024 House average. Earlier this year, she also reportedly threw furniture at terrified staffers. You can help ensure that Daily Kos remains the home for our shared fight for democracy and justice. Can you chip in to help us close the books on 2024 and keep Daily Kos strong in 2025 and beyond?
