Schlapp: House GOP Majority ‘Unable to Influence’ Congress

According to Conservative Political Action Conference Chair Matt Schlapp, House Republicans did not have a significant impact on Congress during the first session of the 118th Congress.

Schlapp’s annual Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA) report card of conservatives, published on Monday, highlighted that much of 2023 was consumed by “continuing resolutions.”

While acknowledging that the 2022 mid-terms did not meet all expectations, Schlapp noted that Republicans had a slim majority in the House, free from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s control. However, he criticized House Republicans for not taking full advantage of their majority.

Schlapp pointed out that despite having more voting opportunities and being the majority in the House, Republicans failed to make a significant positive impact on Congressional affairs. He criticized the focus on Continuing Resolutions that maintained Pelosi’s spending policies and failed Congressional Review Act resolutions.

In his report, Schlapp graded House Republicans, with 71 receiving awards for conservative excellence. Fifteen of them achieved a perfect score of 100%. Only Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, received a perfect score in the Senate.

One of the shortcomings highlighted by Schlapp was the failure of House Republicans to elect Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as Speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

On the Senate side, the lowest-scoring Republicans included House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 68%; and Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, 59%; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, 55%; and Susan Collins, R-Maine, 54%.