<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6374528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="toyota">Toyota</keyword> said it would stop donating to Republicans who had objected to <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword>'s certification.</li><li>The automaker's PAC had given tens of thousands of dollars to these lawmakers since January.</li><li>In an ad this week, the Lincoln Project targeted Toyota for donating to the objectors.</li></ul><p>Toyota said Thursday it would stop donating to Republicans who objected to Joe Biden's certification as president, after the automaker <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-pac-political-donations-money-lawmakers-election-trump-biden-republican-2021-4">came under fire from watchdogs and activists</a> for giving tens of thousands of dollars to these lawmakers.</p><p>The company was the target of an <a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1413120694574059528">advert</a> from anti-Donald Trump campaign group the Lincoln Project on Thursday, which said that the automaker had given "more money than any company to the seditious politicians who voted to overturn the 2020 election result."</p><p>In a statement shared with Insider, Toyota said that its PAC's decision to donate to the objectors had "troubled some stakeholders."</p><p>"At this time, we have decided to stop contributing to those Members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election," its statement read.</p><p>"Toyota is committed to supporting and promoting actions that further our democracy," it said. It added that it had "long-standing relationships with Members of Congress across the political spectrum."</p><p>The left-leaning watchdog <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/this-sedition-is-brought-to-you-by/">Citizens for Ethics</a> said in July that Toyota's PAC had donated $56,000 total to 38 GOP objectors since January, making it the biggest donor to the individual objectors and their leadership PACs - while <a href="https://popular.info/p/what-we-learned-from-the-first-major">Popular Information</a> said that the company's PAC has donated $62,000 to 40 lawmakers.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-organization-indictments-dc-hotel-washington-2021-7">Inside the Trump International Hotel DC when the Trump Organization indictments came down</a></em></p><p><a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=efiling&amp;contributor_name=toyota+pac+pac">Federal Election Commission</a> filings show that, among others, Toyota donated $5,000 to Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman and $3,500 to Arizona Rep. David Schweikert.</p><p>"Toyota's number one at finding ways to financially reward the very party that took our nation to the brink on January 6," the narrator said in the Lincoln Project's ad.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-The Lincoln Project  (@ProjectLincoln) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1413120694574059528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"If [Toyota's executives] don't reconsider where they send their money, Americans will reconsider where we send ours," they added. Comcast refused to air the ad, the Lincoln Project <a href="https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1413181271262605326">said</a>.</p><p>After a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 to try and prevent Congress from certifying Biden's win, many top US companies <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-siege-trump-company-responses-riots-political-donations-2021-1">scrambled to cut ties</a> with the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted against the results.</p><p>Dozens of companies, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-siege-trump-company-responses-riots-political-donations-2021-1">Walmart, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, and AT&amp;T</a>, said they would stop donating to these specific lawmakers, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hallmark-political-donations-josh-hawley-roger-marshall-republicans-2021-1">Hallmark</a> even asked two senators to return its donations.</p><p>Other companies, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-citi-microsoft-facebook-pause-political-donations-capitol-siege-2021-1">Microsoft, Deloitte, and Goldman Sachs</a>, said they would instead <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-citi-microsoft-facebook-pause-political-donations-capitol-siege-2021-1">pause all political donations</a> to both Republicans and Democrats..</p><p>The vast majority of corporations who pledged to stop funding these GOP lawmakers have stayed true to their word. Some companies who made vaguer promises about assessing PAC criteria have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-pac-political-donations-money-lawmakers-election-trump-biden-republican-2021-4#toyota-1">restarted donations</a>, while others <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-pac-political-donations-money-lawmakers-election-trump-biden-republican-2021-4#toyota-1">gave money instead to various Republican committees</a> that, in turn, fund these lawmakers.</p><p>Toyota did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-pac-political-donations-money-lawmakers-election-trump-biden-republican-2021-4">A Toyota spokesperson told Insider</a> in May that the company "supports candidates based on their position on issues that are important to the auto industry and the company."</p><p>"We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification," the spokesperson said at the time. "Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions." The spokesperson did not say who those members were.</p>

Toyota said it would stop donating to Republicans who voted against Biden's certification, having given tens of thousands of dollars since the Capitol riots

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/512d39a2ecad041864000008-2400/dave-schweikert.jpg" alt="dave Schweikert" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Rep. David Schweikert</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Sen. Jeff Flake announced Tuesday that he won't seek reelection in 2018.</strong></li><li><strong>Rep. David Schweikert would be among one of the most prominent candidates to come from the House who could fill Flake's seat.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />WASHINGTON - Arizona Rep. David Schweikert signaled that he might not run for the Senate seat made open by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-flake-senate-reelection-trump-2017-10">retirement</a> of Sen. Jeff Flake in 2018, saying he might not have "<span>the burning passion that that type of race would take."</span></p><p>"I love the illusions of grandeur but I'm not sure I have the burning passion that that type of race would take," Scweikert told reporters on Wednesday when asked if he was considering a run. "From a personality standpoint, I've often had a long-term goal of maybe governor just because that seemed to fit me more personality wise."</p><p><span>While he did not fully rule out a run for Senate, Schweikert added that the Republicans in Arizona's congressional delegation are meeting Thursday morning to hash out who might want to run because they would not want to step on each other's toes in a crowded race.</span></p><p>"We actually have something unique in our delegation," he said. "Our delegation actually likes each other and we've worked really hard to have that happen because that wasn't always the history with Arizona representatives. So we're sort of having that 'Does anyone have just burning passion to want to do this' [conversation]."</p><p><span></span>Speculation has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-gears-up-for-a-wide-open-race-with-jeff-flakes-retirement-2017-10">mounted</a> about a handful of different Republicans who might run after Flake announced his retirement after citing frustration with the deteriorating state of American political discourse.</p><p>Schweikert also suggested that a candidate might not come forward immediately from the five Republicans representing Arizona in the House.</p><p>"It's not a coronation meeting," he said. "We're not gonna be burning white or grey smoke up a chimney. It was more just to see is anyone burning with passion [to run for Senate]."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gop-republican-senator-bob-corker-slams-donald-trump-great-difficulty-with-the-truth-tax-reform-north-korea-2017-10">Senator Bob Corker slams Trump and says he has 'great difficulty with the truth'</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/SmxXxr2v-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Potential frontrunner to replace Jeff Flake just hinted that he might not run: 'I'm not sure I have the burning passion that that type of race would take'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Redistricting and fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America's government.  </li><li>More often than not, older members of Congress win in primaries between two incumbents.</li><li>But polarization and partisanship are enabling younger members to knock out their elders.</li></ul><p>Every 10 years, a new US Census forces states to redraw their political maps through redistricting. Whenever a state loses a House seat in the process, incumbent members of Congress are forced to run against each other — and younger, less experienced incumbents often end up on the chopping block. </p><p>An Insider analysis, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X97S6hUby6PPHAMoEwvAxkAUo8EUwLk8xMosx4hVd8c/edit#gid=638845180">based on data compiled by Bloomberg's Greg Giroux,</a> found that in 20 incumbent-on-incumbent contests since 1992 where there was an age difference of at least two years between the candidates, 12 were won by the older member and eight by the younger member. </p><p>The dynamics of member-on-member contests have favored older incumbents and reinforced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gerontocracy-united-states-government-red-white-gray-2022-9">the gerontocracy in American politics</a> as we know it. Since the 1990s, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gerontocracy-united-states-congress-red-white-and-gray-data-charts-2022-9">the age of Congress has significantly increased</a> compared to the baseline growth seen over the 20th century — and redistricting has only hastened that trend. </p><p>"It doesn't surprise me that age would make a difference on the margins," Jamie Carson, a political scientist at the University of Georgia who studies congressional elections, told Insider of member-on-member races. "It brings a bit more experience, better fundraising prowess, and maybe they know the district better." </p><p>The 2012 cycle, where the more senior representative won eight of 11 such contests following redistricting, was particularly brutal for younger incumbents. </p><p>In New Jersey, then 75-year-old Bill Pascrell easily dispatched 59-year-old Democratic Rep. Steven Rothman by 22 points <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2012/05/how_the_rothman_vs_pascrell_co.html">when the two ran in the same district</a> in 2012. </p><p>Fifty-year-old Rep. David Schweikert narrowly ousted the one-term 35-year-old Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, in the Phoenix suburbs. Sixty-nine-year-old John Mica, who had served in Congress for nearly 20 years, knocked out 55-year-old Sandy Adams, who served one term, in suburban Central Florida. And 60-year-old Janice Hahn defeated fellow Democrat Laura Richardson, 50, in the general election for California's 44th District by a resounding 20 points.</p><div type="image" title="Rep. Alex Mooney, left, and Rep. David McKinley, right" height="1300" width="2000" msid="94502177" hostid="261" sizebytes="154214"></div><h3><strong>Youth movement — fueled by partisanship?</strong></h3><p>But that trend is changing. Accelerating partisanship and polarization, in particular, are shaking up the game — and increasingly empowering younger lawmakers to knock out their more senior rivals. </p><p>In 2022, the 75-year-old, five-term Rep. David McKinley, a West Virginia Republican, had some key advantages on his side when reapportionment put him in the same district as 50-year-old Rep. Alex Mooney. </p><p>McKinley, endorsed by both Virginia's Republican governor and its powerful Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/12/gop-primary-west-virginia-infrastructure-00024473">was able to tout his role in the passage of a landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill</a> that provided much-needed funds for his state. But an endorsement from President Donald Trump and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/outside-spending?cycle=2022&amp;id=WV02">hundreds of thousands in outside spending</a> from conservative groups boosted Mooney to win the day. </p><p>Younger candidates have won four out of six member-on-member primaries of the 2022 cycle, though in one case, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who's 75, was younger by just a few months than Democratic rival, Rep. Carolyn Maloney. And in the cases of the two older incumbents who came out on top in their races, age and tenure in Congress weren't the deciding factors.</p><div type="image" title="Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois outside a January 6 committee hearing on June 13, 2022." height="1333" width="1777" msid="94502179" hostid="261" sizebytes="160780"></div><h3><strong>State lawmakers have expertly wielded their redistricting pens to kneecap their opponents — and hurt younger candidates </strong></h3><p>Over the decades, intentional partisan gerrymandering — and the inevitable reshuffling that comes along with states losing districts and redrawing their lines — have dashed many congressional careers and aspirations.</p><p>Partisan gerrymandering and internal party struggle over district lines can also prevent young candidates or candidates from diverse backgrounds from getting elected to Congress in the first place. </p><p>"Wisconsin's 7th District is very gerrymandered, so that was already a challenge that, going in, I knew," Tricia Zunker, who ran as a Democrat in a special election in a rural, Republican-leaning north-central Wisconsin district in spring 2020, told Insider in an interview.</p><p>Partisan gerrymandering, the redrawing of political district lines to favor one political party over the other, has gotten increasingly tactical. State lawmakers, in addition to utilizing the process to kneecap the opposing party, also make strategic choices about which members of Congress to sacrifice. </p><p>In 2002, Republican state lawmakers in Michigan, who then controlled the redistricting process, drew two Democrats into the same blue district to make the surrounding districts safer for their party, <a href="https://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/590605-redistricting-101-cracking-and-packing/">a gerrymandering tactic known as packing.</a></p><p>The new map put <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1147714">then 45-year-old Rep. Lynn Rivers in the same district as Rep. John Dingell</a>, a scion of Michigan politics who still holds the mantle of the longest-serving member of Congress in history.</p><p>Rivers mounted a competitive challenge — but still lost the race by 18 points. And she's not the only one who saw her time in Congress come to an end after partisan gerrymandering pitted her against a colleague. </p><p>After the 2020 Census, Republican lawmakers in Georgia took the opportunity to force out one of the two Democratic women who had won seats in the blue-trending Atlanta suburbs, pushing Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux into the same safely Democratic district. </p><p>In Illinois, which lost one House seat after 2020, a map drawn by Democrats in the state legislature pitted two sets of Republican incumbents against each other in northern and central Illinois. Rep. Rodney Davis lost to freshman Rep. Mary Miller in one of those races. In the other, Rep. Adam Kinzinger <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-rep-adam-kinzinger-wont-run-for-reelection-in-2022-2021-10">decided to retire</a> rather than run against Rep. Darin LaHood. </p><p>"Through a strategic lens, it's a chance to knock out an incumbent and make that seat more vulnerable," Carson, the political scientist, said of gerrymandering.</p><p>The game of political musical chairs set off by a state losing a seat in Congress can also box out young, upstart candidates hoping to break in. </p><p>Lourin Hubbard, a 33-year-old water-quality-control manager in California's Central Valley, ran as a Democrat in a June 2022 special election after a top GOP representative, Devin Nunes, left Congress early to run the Trump Media &amp; Technology Group, the company behind the former president's Truth Social platform.</p><p>Hubbard, who lost to the 71-year-old Republican Connie Conway, considered running for a full term in Congress. But California's new commission-drawn congressional map, which will fully take effect come January 2023, dissolves Nunes' old district and splits it up into four new ones — including one held by Democratic Rep. Jim Costa. </p><p>Hubbard told Insider that local county Democrats discouraged him from running for a full term in Congress against Costa, who now holds a safely Democratic Fresno-based seat.     </p><p>The new map "created some tension and conflict" within the county Democratic Party. "And to avoid that conflict altogether, I was like, 'I'll just run in the special,'" he said. </p><div type="image" title="Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan at a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2022." height="1331" width="1780" msid="94502181" hostid="261" sizebytes="151940"></div><h2><strong>Partisanship and parochial factors are shaking up member-on-member primaries</strong></h2><p>Incumbency<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/incumbent-advantage"> is the best predictor of whether a candidate wins an election</a>. </p><p>Challengers, Carson noted, have the best shot at unseating incumbents if they have prior political experience, money, or are up against an incumbent with particular weaknesses or a scandal.</p><p>"Even if you don't like the incumbent, that's not enough," Ryan Williamson, a resident fellow for governance at the R Street Institute, a Washington DC-based policy think tank, told Insider. "You have to actively dislike the incumbent and mobilize around unseating them, which is a much higher burden."</p><p>But the rare contests where incumbents are pitted against each other are "idiosyncratic," Carson said, and don't follow predictable patterns — especially in the 2022 cycle.        </p><p>Two decades after the Dingell-Rivers race, another primary fight between two Michigan Democrats shows how partisanship and money can eclipse age, experience — and even membership in a political dynasty — in member-on-member races. </p><p>Rep. Haley Stevens, 39, could have had an uphill battle against Rep. Andy Levin, 61, when he decided to run against her in her suburban Detroit district, which became more safely Democratic under new lines drawn by a citizen-led commission. </p><p>Like Dingell in 1955, Levin took over the House seat held for decades by his father, Sander Levin, in the 2018 midterm elections, following both his father and his uncle, former Sen. Carl Levin, to Washington. </p><p>But Levin took a risk by choosing to run in the safely blue 11th District instead of the more Republican 10th District where he lived, planting himself on largely unfamiliar turf <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-6-house-races-where-incumbents-are-likely-to-face-another-incumbent/">where he represented just a quarter of the electorate. </a></p><p>The <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/report-after-citizens-united-outside-spending-doubles/">explosion in outside campaign spending</a> since 2002 has shaken up the dynamics of all House primaries and heavily factored into the 11th District contest. A slew of pro-Israel, women's, and progressive organizations poured <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/outside-spending?cycle=2022&amp;id=MI11">over $9 million</a>, $7.45 million of which benefited Stevens, into the race. Stevens <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/02/haley-stevens-andy-levin-congressional-district/10200586002/">ended up beating Levin by 20 points</a> in August — overcoming both his seniority in age and the potency of his family name. </p><p>Like in all House elections, money plays a significant role in member-on-member races. Older incumbents often have more money in the bank and more established fundraising networks from their years campaigning for elected office and, in some cases, greater personal wealth, candidates and experts told Insider. </p><p>The candidate who spent the most money won four out of six member-on-member contests in 2022 and nine out of 11 contests in the 2012 cycle, according to an Insider analysis of campaign-finance records. </p><p>"Every new midterm breaks the previous record, and a bulk of that money is going to flow to the most competitive primaries and general elections," Carson said, noting that "money is a necessary but not sufficient condition," particularly in member-on-member contests. </p><p>State lawmakers have drawn incumbents together for political gain for decades, but the post-2020 redistricting cycle also saw many maps drawn by courts or independent commissions. Many of those commissions prioritized drawing competitive districts over protecting longtime incumbents, which blunted the advantage that some more tenured incumbents enjoyed. </p><p>New York's court-drawn congressional map, resulting from a messy and protracted legal battle, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/30/nyregion/jerry-nadler-carolyn-maloney.html">pitted two longtime House Democrats and committee chairs</a>, Nadler and Maloney, against each other in upper Manhattan.</p><p>That race, a clash of two septuagenarian titans of New York politics, was driven more by parochial forces than national ones, with The New York Times editorial board and the powerful Sen. Chuck Schumer <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-election-2022-key-endorsements-ny-12-congressional-district-20220817-56gr6n3jpbcyvij2ikt5sj5pdi-story.html">throwing their support behind Nadler</a> in the final stretch. </p><p>As the Stevens-Levin race showed, the member of Congress representing most of the new district's constituents is generally favored in a matchup between two incumbents in the same seat. </p><p>But in other races, like the Hahn-Richardson contest, a candidate who represented very little of their new territory came out on top.  </p><p>And four out of six member-on-member contests that have taken place so far in 2022 saw the member who represented less of their new district winning their race, according to <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qjVA5g1bmZVDgTvwBpoZCSoEKLyhV7az3NVSlduUvzE/edit#gid=1417433366">Daily Kos Elections.</a> In Georgia, for example, McBath won <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-6-house-races-where-incumbents-are-likely-to-face-another-incumbent/">despite representing just 12% of her new district</a>, while her opponent represented over 57% of it.    </p><p>Partisanship and ideology are now playing a more prominent role than age and seniority in shaping House primaries, especially on the Republican side. </p><p>The winners of the two 2022 primaries where Republican incumbents faced each other, Miller and Mooney had firmly aligned with Trump's wing of the Republican Party, earned Trump's endorsement, and also enjoyed outside spending on their behalf by groups like <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs//C00487470/independent-expenditures/2022?t0-search=miller">the Club for Growth</a> and the political arm of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs//C00552851/independent-expenditures/2022">the House Freedom Caucus.</a> </p><p>In Illinois, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/illinois-congressional-state-local-primary-elections-results-2022-6">Miller defeated Davis by 14 points</a> despite raising and spending less money than Davis, serving in Congress for less time, and only representing slightly more of the new district. Mooney, who also served less time and represented just a third of the redrawn district, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/west-virginia-primaries-david-mckinley-alex-mooney-live-results-2022-5">defeated McKinley by an even wider margin of 18 points.</a> </p><p>Knocking out an incumbent with years of lawmaking experience is still difficult, and older candidates' structural advantages aren't disappearing. But the forces of partisanship are making it easier for challengers. </p><p>House Republicans who fought the Trumpian takeover of the party, like Reps. Liz Cheney, Tom Rice, Peter Meijer, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, all <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/with-cheneys-loss-just-2-house-republicans-who-voted-to-impeach-trump-are-on-the-ballot-in-november/">lost to Trump-backed primary challengers</a>. And others, like Kinzinger and Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, John Katko, and Fred Upton, chose to forgo running altogether. </p><p>In all, 14 House incumbents <a href="https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/casualty-list">lost renomination</a> in 2022, the highest number in a single cycle since 1992. The forces of partisanship and polarization, Carson said, would have pushed that number even higher if not for dozens of members heading for the exits.</p><p>"For the longest time, it was hard to beat incumbents because people of the opposite party would be willing to cross party lines," Carson said. "That has changed. If you're a Democrat in a Republican district, your days are probably numbered."</p>

Fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America's government. But that may be changing.

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e72aa6ec485404d8038daf2-2400/rep%20mario%20diaz-balart.jpg" alt="Rep. Mario Diaz Balart" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart announced Wednesday evening that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.</li><li>Diaz-Balart, a Republican representing Florida's 25th District, said in a statement that he was "feeling much better" but that it was vital Americans take the coronavirus "extremely seriously."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the first member of Congress to contract the virus.</p><p>His office announced the news Wednesday night in press release and a tweet.</p><p>Diaz-Balart represents Florida's 25th congressional district.</p><p>"In an abundance of caution, after votes on Friday, March 13th, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart decided to self-quarantine in Washington, DC, and not return to South Florida because of his wife Tia's pre-existing conditions that put her at exceptionally high risk," the statement said.</p><p>"On Saturday evening, Congressman Diaz-Balart developed symptoms, including a fever and a headache. Just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19. While in quarantine Diaz-Balart has been working from his apartment in Washington, DC."</p><p>He was on the House floor as recently as the early hours of Saturday morning,<a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2020/roll102.xml"> when the House voted to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act</a>. Diaz-Balart voted in the affirmative.</p><p>In a statement of his own, Diaz-Balart told constituents that, "I want everyone to know that I am feeling much better."</p><p>"However, it is important that everyone take this extremely seriously and follow CDC guidelines in order to avoid getting sick and mitigate the spread of this virus," he said. "We must continue to work together to emerge stronger as a country during these trying times."</p><p>The congressman's offices are currently closed and his staff will remain quarantined until further notice, press secretary Laura Hernandez told Insider.</p><p>Two congressional staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, including an employee of Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, and a member of Rep. David Schweikert's staff.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-members-of-congress-self-quarantine-after-cpac-coronavirus-alert-2020-3">Several members of Congress have had to self-quarantine in recent weeks due to fears they were exposed to the virus after meeting with individuals who later tested positive for the coronavirus</a>. Some of those members included Republicans Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, have had to self-quarantine as a precaution due to fears they were exposed to the virus. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I'm feeling much better. However, it's important that everyone take this seriously and follow <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CDCgov</a> guidelines in order to avoid getting sick &amp; mitigate the spread of this virus. We must continue to work together to emerge stronger as a country during these trying times. <a href="https://t.co/g5W5vSQIyH">pic.twitter.com/g5W5vSQIyH</a></p>- Mario Diaz-Balart  (@MarioDB) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240409251471937537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote>

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is the first member of Congress to test positive for coronavirus

<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12"></a></p><div type="image" title="US Senator from Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis." height="678" width="904" msid="88281416" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>At least five lawmakers invested in brokerage firms involved in crypto or other digital assets in 2020 and 2021.</li><li>At least 21 congressional staffers have also invested in the market.</li></ul><p>Lawmakers are torn about how to regulate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a>. But that hasn't stopped some members of <keyword id="11893699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="congress" source="Orion">Congress</keyword> and their senior staffers from investing in it.</p><p>At least one senator and four US House representatives have bought stock in cryptocurrency-related companies or invested with brokerage firms that work with this emerging market, according to an Insider analysis of federal records detailing the lawmakers' personal finances for 2020.</p><p>Meanwhile, Congress has been introducing legislative proposals aimed at better regulating crypto. </p><p>Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican of Wyoming who sits on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is an outlier among her colleagues. In 2020, she reported investing up to $250,000 in <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/private-company/unchained-capital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unchained Capital</a>, a bitcoin-based financial-services company. She's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/altcoins-bitcoin-crypto-cryptocurrency-politics-congress-elections-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among a handful of members</a> of Congress who accept cryptocurrency campaign contributions.</p><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/21153578-cynthia-lummis/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="Cynthia Lummis (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="540" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe><p>But Lummis was several days late reporting a purchase in August of up to $100,000 in <keyword id="11893902" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">Bitcoin</keyword>. Lummis's spokeswoman Abegail Cave told Insider that the Wyoming senator "has gone above and beyond to comply with federal law and Senate Ethics requirements regarding financial disclosures."</p><p>Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican of New Jersey, reported up to $250,000 in "an investment trust" operated by Grayscale, the world's largest digital-currency asset-management firm. The office of Van Dew did not respond to Insiders comment on what kind of investment trust he has with the firm.</p><p>Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a 33-year-old <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jake-auchincloss-afghanistan-joe-biden-congress-house-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">freshman</a> of Massachusetts, <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2020/10040680.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> up to $15,000 in <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/private-company/flipside-crypto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flipside Crypto</a> Investor Holdings.</p><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/21153607-jake-auchincloss/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="Jake Auchincloss (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="905" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe><p>Rep. Barry Moore, a Republican of Alabama, reported investing up to $15,000 with a brokerage firm in Coffee, Alabama. The description of the firm on his <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2020/10040681.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial disclosure</a> said "crypto currency." His office did not respond to Insider's request for comment on which brokerage firm he was using. His disclosure said the firm paid $2,501 to $5,000 in dividends in 2020.</p><p>Jim Newman, the husband of Rep. Marie Newman, a Democrat of Illinois, has <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2021/20019989.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traded</a> stock in the cryptocurrency exchange <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/private-company/coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coinbase</a> at least 16 times. The <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2021/20019989.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most recent trade</a>, a sale valued at $50,001 to $100,000, occurred in November.</p><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/21153596-newman/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="Newman (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="905" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe><p>Also in November, Newman's husband <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2021/20019971.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchased up to $50,000 worth of stock</a> in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.</p><p>Congressional ethics officials say that the "most comprehensive approach" for lawmakers to "eliminate conflicts of interests and the appearance of them" is to form what's known as a qualified blind trust, a financial vehicle the House or Senate ethics committee approves that a trustee manages independently.</p><p>Most members of Congress have not established qualified blind trusts, which are often expensive and time-consuming to establish.</p><div type="image" title="Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at the US Capitol on October 07, 2021." height="1334" width="1778" msid="88281417" hostid="261"></div><h2>Staffers charge into crypto</h2><p>Lawmakers are not the only ones getting in on the cryptocurrency action.</p><p>Insider identified 21 high-ranking congressional staffers or their spouses who in 2020 and 2021 bought or sold cryptocurrencies, including ethereum and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/doge-usd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dogecoin</a>, a cryptocurrency originally created as a joke among crypto enthusiasts that's grown in value over the past year.</p><p>The tally is part of the exhaustive <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conflicted Congress project</a>, in which Insider reviewed nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports for every sitting lawmaker and their top-ranking staffers.</p><p>Senior staffers and some other aides on Capitol Hill are bound by federal law to file timely reports about all their stock transactions and other outside earnings if they make more than $132,552 annually. That's generally the salary minimum for chiefs of staff; the staffers and aides also include chief counsels, legislative directors, and staff members who work on committees and advise lawmakers on policy.</p><p>The extent to which other Capitol Hill office employees with lower salaries hold cryptocurrency and crypto-related stocks is unknown because they are not required to disclose it.</p><p>Kristin Walker, Lummis' chief of staff, told Insider that she started investing in bitcoin in the summer of 2020, before Lummis was elected and before she came to work on the Hill.</p><p>"Wyoming has been at the forefront of digital assets for the past few years, and I learned about it through Wyoming's efforts," Walker said.</p><p>Another crypto investor was Scott Sloofman, the staff director for the Senate Republican Communications Center under Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He purchased between $1,001 to $15,000-worth of Coinbase shares in April. He did not respond to Insider's inquiry about his investments. </p><p>More senior staffers than lawmakers have invested in cryptocurrency does not come as a surprise to Ron Hammond, the director of government affairs for the Blockchain Association. </p><p>"There has been a massive uptick in staffers who either have crypto or are really interested in the issue, and I think it's more of a generational thing," Hammond, who worked on Capitol Hill as a former congressional staffer for many years.</p><p>The average age of members of the House at the beginning of the current 117th Congress was 58.4 years, <a href="https://guides.loc.gov/117th-congress-book-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Library of Congress. The average age for senators was 64.3 years.</p><p>The idea of lawmakers and congressional staffers investing in cryptocurrency is exciting, Hammond said. </p><p>"For those who want to get involved in crypto legislation, it's important to maybe have some foot in it," he said. "It does help increase your knowledge about how everything is supposed to work or you know what some flaws may be."</p><div type="image" title="Elizabeth Warren" height="3755" width="5006" msid="88281418" hostid="261"></div><h2>Congress tries to get a grip on digital assets</h2><p>Crypto chatter has ratcheted up on Capitol Hill in recent months as supporters and opponents of digital assets sketch out their respective visions about what the future might hold. </p><p>In early June, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri proposed tightening cryptocurrency rules to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/senator-roy-blunt-mark-warner-strict-crypto-regulation-ransomware-attacks-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">better trace electronic payments to ransomware attackers</a>. </p><p>A few weeks later, Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat of California who also chairs the House Committee on Financial Services, told attendees at a subcommittee hearing that she and her colleagues are "committed to providing not only more transparency in this minimally-regulated industry, but to ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place."</p><p>"So we have begun a thorough examination of this marketplace," the 16-term lawmaker announced during a <a href="https://youtu.be/WG3N_QcHEcs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-hour discussion</a> weighing whether cryptocurrencies would lead to financial independence or fiscal ruin. </p><p>Along the way, House lawmakers quietly passed a <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3723/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bipartisan bill</a> instructing the Federal Trade Commission to provide Congress with recommendations "to further protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the digital token marketplace." </p><p>Come late July, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat of Michigan who also chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence and counterterrorism, urged administration officials to lay out their wish list now for stronger cryptocurrency curbs. "If you need changes to legislation, if you need resources, we want to hear more from you, not less," Slotkin said during a <a href="https://youtu.be/1yWx0Y6tK-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">90-minute discussion</a> tagged "terrorism and digital financing." </p><p>Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a crypto skeptic <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-to-sec-chair-at-hearing-regulators-need-to-step-up-to-address-cryptos-regulatory-gaps-and-ensure-an-inclusive-financial-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who's characterized it</a> as "unreliable tech" with "unpredictable fees," said the industry <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-mining-electricity-usage-more-than-google-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmed the planet</a> by necessitating huge, energy-sucking <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-mine-bitcoin-miner-electricity-equipment-costs-profitability-pool-2021-7?r=mining-lp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mines</a>, computer facilities designed to solve complex math problems to obtain the digital coins.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Elizabeth Warren  (@SenWarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1466769189977292800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"Cryptomining has huge environmental costs &amp; is raising energy prices for consumers. Bitcoin alone consumes as much energy as Washington state," the Massachusetts Democrat <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1466769189977292800" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.</p><p>A few days later, House lawmakers quizzed the CEOs of a half-dozen crypto-focused companies about their business practices.</p><p>The <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/events/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=408705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six witnesses</a>, who handle everything from the logistics of mining bitcoin to branching out into other blockchain-based investments, spent <a href="https://youtu.be/4oOTvtupND8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four hours</a> answering questions about the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies and their place in the modern economy. </p><p>Daniel Gallagher, the chief legal officer for the financial-services company Robinhood, tried to manage expectations ahead of the hearing, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/robinhood-legal-chief-crypto-legislation-is-not-likely-imminent-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling</a> CNBC that "it's a stretch to believe that there will be legislation coming out on crypto anytime soon."</p><div type="image" title="Representative Tom Emmer sitting down at the House Financial Services Committee meeting" height="2666" width="3555" msid="88281419" hostid="261"></div><h2>Crypto associations bulk up lobbying efforts</h2><p>The flurry of talks surrounding regulation has prompted more cryptocurrency <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/altcoins-bitcoin-crypto-cryptocurrency-politics-congress-elections-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">associations</a> to strengthen their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocurrency-lobbyists-congress-infrastructure-blockchain-bitcoin-altcoins-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lobbying efforts</a> on Capitol Hill.</p><p>By August, cryptocurrency interests had collectively <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/08/cryptocurrency-industry-spending-big-against-senates-infrastructure-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent $2.4 million</a> lobbying the federal government, including Congress, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/08/cryptocurrency-industry-spending-big-against-senates-infrastructure-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan research organization that tracks money in <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword>.</p><p>The interests lobbied against portions of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would <a href="https://www.gibsondunn.com/infrastructure-bills-new-reporting-requirements-may-have-sweeping-implications-for-cryptocurrency-ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impose new tax-reporting</a> requirements on crypto brokers that could pave the way for stronger regulations.</p><p>The lobbying efforts were unsuccessful. President Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill into law in November. The crypto-broker policy is expected to raise $28 billion over 10 years to help fund infrastructure projects, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.</p><p>Five years ago, the House created the <a href="https://www.coincenter.org/bipartisan-blockchain-caucus-formed-in-congress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bipartisan Congressional Blockchain Caucus</a> to consider policymaking. One of the leaders of the group was Mick Mulvaney, a Republican congressman from South Carolina who later became President Donald Trump's chief of staff. </p><p>The current chairmen of the caucus are GOP Reps. Tom Emmer of Minnesota and David Schweikert of Arizona and Democratic Reps. Bill Foster of Illinois and Darren Soto of Florida. None reported holding any cryptocurrencies in their 2020 financial disclosures.</p><p>Emmer <a href="https://www.minnpost.com/national/2021/10/why-rep-tom-emmer-wants-congress-to-start-taking-cryptocurrency-seriously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told MinnPost in October</a> that he started reading about crypto after one of his staffers left the book "The Age of Cryptocurrency" on his desk back in 2015 or 2016. He has introduced several crypto-related bills, including the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4451?s=1&amp;r=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities Clarity Act</a>, which would allow regulators to categorize cryptocurrencies as either a commodity, a security, or a currency. </p><p>But overall, lawmakers have been slow to embrace cryptocurrency because it hasn't been around for a long time, Najah Roberts, the founder of Crypto Blockchain Plug, a brick-and-mortar cryptocurrency exchange and education center, told Insider.</p><p>"They are afraid of that technology," she said.</p><p>Roberts said she hoped more lawmakers would invest in the market.</p><p>"It will be great if they do because then that will give them a better understanding on how to acquire the asset, how they feel about securing the asset," she said.</p>

Some federal lawmakers and their staffers are all in on cryptocurrency speculation as Congress mulls how (or how not) to regulate the coins

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59d5044f351ccfd9008b7f39-910/gettyimages-854117458.jpg" alt="paul ryan" data-mce-source="Win McNamee/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Win McNamee/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The House passed the Senate budget allowing $1.5 trillion in lost revenue.</strong></li><li><strong>Republicans say that growth from tax cuts will pay for much of that.</strong></li><li><strong>Deficit hawks are irked by the lost revenue, but are still on board pending a dynamic score of the forthcoming tax plan.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />WASHINGTON - A key figure in Republicans' forthcoming effort to overhaul the tax code could spell bad news for the economy - expanding the national debt further even if the economy begins to grow at a faster rate.</p><p>The newly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-reform-plan-house-vote-senate-budget-resolution-salt-deduction-2017-10">passed</a> budget allows for $1.5 trillion in lost revenue, which the US could be forced to borrow on top of an additional $10 trillion being borrowed over the next decade.</p><p>The budget narrowly passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 216-212, with five lawmakers not voting and 20 Republicans rejecting it. While the bulk of "no" votes were Republicans <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-reform-plan-house-vote-senate-budget-resolution-salt-deduction-2017-10">demanding</a> protections for the state and local tax deductions, the substantial figure of $1.5 trillion has frustrated deficit hawks on Capitol Hill.</p><p>"It is a little frustrating that the Senate at the same time stripped out three areas that we thought we could help with the pay-fors," said Rep. Mark Walker, who chairs the Republican Study Committee. "One was the mandatory reforms of $200 billion, obviously it's still a vehicle to repeal and replace Obamacare, but also one of the things was any kind of consideration for a balanced budget amendment. So when they stripped out all of that and then add the $1.5 [trillion] it is a tough pill for many of us to swallow."</p><p>Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal, the top Democratic tax writer in Congress, told Business Insider the $1.5 trillion to be borrowed would ultimately become well over $2 trillion as a result of interest. He said that the growth Republicans claim will pay off the $1.5 trillion is a farce.</p><p>"There is no school of thought, left, right, or center in the economic world that will guarantee that outcome," Neal said. "And I think, even when you hear from people who are respected respected economists and academics, they say that at best it'll be tiny if anything."</p><p>North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, who chairs the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Business Insider that the Republican plan is the most conservative option in contrast to anything Democrats want.</p><p>"We're gonna use the $1.5 trillion," he said. "We're gonna dynamically score it so it'll be more than $1.5 trillion on what we do in terms of using it for tax cuts."</p><p>But the massive gap between lost revenue and economic growth Republicans say will pay for the tax cuts is still being worked out. Exactly which additional spending cuts could come with it are still unclear, according to Arizona Rep. David Schweikert, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.</p><p>"We're still moving levers," Schweikert said. "But we've also spent a couple of years bathing in these things. So everyone sort of knows the issues - now it's sort of the adjustments of what makes it work."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-marriage-three-times-ivana-melania-marla-maples-divorce-2016-2">Meet the three women who married Donald Trump</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/nLYgFlFe-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A key figure in the GOP's tax plan could spell bad news for the economy

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5983835876084a6b008b5281-836/gettyimages-818945030.jpg" alt="jeff flake" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Pool" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Pool</span></p><p class="caption">Jeff Flake.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Jeff Flake's retirement creates a wide open race for Arizona's Senate seat in 2018.</strong></li><li><strong>Multiple Republican members of Congress have been floated as potential candidates.</strong></li><li><strong>Far-right outsider candidates could also jump in the race.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>WASHINGTON - With Sen. Flake's decision to not seek reelection in Arizona next year, the Grand Canyon State's congressional delegation was sent into a frenzy of speculation about who might throw their hat in the ring for what will be a high-profile 2018 race.</p><p>Flake made the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-flake-senate-reelection-trump-2017-10">announcement</a> to retire after just one term on Tuesday, citing as a key reason the deterioration of political discourse, much of which he attributes to President Donald Trump.</p><p>"<span>The notion that one should stay silent as the norms and values that keep America strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreements that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters - the notion that one should say and do nothing in the face of such mercurial behavior is ahistoric and, I believe, profoundly misguided," Flake said on the Senate floor.</span></p><p><span>Following the announcement, speculation mounted about a Republican successor.</span></p><p><span>"There's a lot of rumors right now," said Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs. "It was just an hour and a half ago and already my phone is blowing up with all kinds of suggestions with all kinds of people."</span></p><p><span>Rep. Martha McSally, whose name has been floated as a candidate, quickly entered and exited the House floor to avoid interacting with reporters about her 2018 ambitions.</span></p><p><span>But Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), told Business Insider he hopes McSally remains a member of the House for the next election, adding he believes the GOP has a deep bench of prospective candidates to potentially fill her seat.</span></p><p><span>"Martha's a great candidate but there's other good candidates that live there," Stivers said. "I hope Martha stays in the Congress, but if she decides she wants to run for the Senate, we'll have a good candidate and we'll win."</span></p><p><span>"We're lucky to have a lot of talent in Arizona, a lot of great members, and if one of them decides to do it, I feel pretty confident we can hold all our seats in Arizona," Stivers said, noting Arizona's considerable Republican bent.</span></p><p><span>In addition to McSally, a name that immediately attracted speculation was Rep. David Schweikert, an influential member of the Financial Services Committee.</span></p><p><span>"I think we'll have a little bit of a family discussion with the Republican members and see if anyone has the burning ambition," Schweikert told reporters Tuesday.</span></p><p><span>But the flurry of House Republicans who might jump in could extend even further. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat serving in Arizona, told reporters, "</span><span>I think you're gonna see the Arizona congressional Republican delegation emptying out pretty quickly."</span></p><p><span>Outside the current Arizona congressional delegation, among the names floated were former Governor Jan Brewer and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pardons-joe-arpaio-2017-8">pardoned</a> by Trump in August of a conviction for violating court orders on a racial profiling law. </span></p><p><span>"</span><span>They wouldn't be able to make it," Gallego said of Brewer and Arpaio.</span></p><p><span>Arpaio <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/joe-arpaio-still-considering-arizona-senate-run-says-he-met-steve-bannon-twice/article/2638479">told</a> the Washington Examiner he is considering a run and has spoken with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.</span></p><p><span>"I mean if [Arpaio] wins a primary that's better," Gallego added. "We could definitely beat him like a drum in the general."</span></p><p><span>On the Democratic side of the race, the only major candidate to declare is Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is known for being one of the most moderate members of Congress. Sinema has already received broad support among her colleagues, including Gallego, who said he is supporting her but has yet to officially endorse.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-defector-escapes-6000-miles-trek-on-crutches-2017-9">A North Korean defector trekked 6,000 miles on crutches to flee - now he helps others escape</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/LfG7VXKx-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Republicans are already scrambling for a plan to fill Jeff Flake's Senate seat

Democrats projected to retain their House majority but lose key seats to Republicans

WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a3bfaa04aa6b527008b6887-2400/gettyimages-895455164.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 19: U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) leaves at the end of a news briefing after a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol December 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The House is expected to vote on the tax bill this afternoon. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)" data-mce-source="Alex Wong/Getty Images" data-link="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/895455164" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/895455164">Alex Wong/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Paul Ryan</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>House Speaker Paul Ryan has hinted at pivoting to entitlement reforms in 2018.</strong></li><li><strong>Republican lawmakers have said President Donald Trump informed them he will not touch entitlements until a second term.</strong></li><li><strong>Democrats are already saying cuts to Medicare and Social Security are nonstarters.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>WASHINGTON - House Speaker Paul Ryan's longtime dream of reforming America's entitlements might have to wait until President Donald Trump secures a second term, due to the political risks, fierce opposition from Democrats, and general hesitance to tackle the issue from the White House.</p><p>In addition to reshaping the federal tax code, reforming entitlements has always been a goal of Ryan's and other fiscal conservatives.</p><p>"Next year, we're going to have to get back to entitlement reform," Ryan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-tax-revamp-still-incomplete-as-republicans-eye-social-program-cuts-2017-12">said</a> on a radio talk show earlier this month. </p><p>But Trump has told multiple Republican members of Congress that going after entitlements in his first term is off the table. A Republican member of Congress who briefed a small group reporters last week <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-social-security-medicare-changes-second-term-2017-12">said</a> Trump relayed to the lawmaker that he would not touch Social Security "<span>until the first day of his second term."</span></p><p><span>Rep. Kenny Marchant, a Texas Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, echoed the GOP lawmaker on Thursday.</span></p><p><span> "</span><span>I specifically recall the president saying that we weren't gonna touch Medicare and Medicaid in his first term," he told Business Insider.</span></p><p><span>"So I'd be surprised if we do something as big as tax reform, infrastructure," Marchant added. "I'd be surprised if it ever raises to that level."</span></p><p><span>Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania told Business Insider that he hopes entitlement reform can make its way into the 2018 agenda. </span></p><p><span>"We need to look at things right now that while are very well-intended, they may not be sustainable, at least not from a standpoint of the way a business would look at it," Kelly said. "So we're gonna have to take a really hard look at what we're doing."</span></p><p><span>And Kelly suggested that Trump feels the same way, at least in theory, that Social Security and other entitlements need to be reigned in soon.</span></p><p><span>"There's nothing worse than not keeping a promise. The only thing worse is making a promise that you know when you make it, that it's not fitted," he said. "So we're gonna have to go through that. I think that the president feels that way too."</span></p><p><span>"You still have an organic demographic crisis coming," said Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona. "At some point we're gonna have to grow up and all deal with it."</span></p><h2><span>Mitch McConnell and Democrats suggests entitlement reform is an impossible task</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2982118a4986dc058b45c2-2000/mcconnell trump ryan meeting.jpeg" alt="mcconnell trump ryan meeting" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>To make things more difficult, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a <a href="https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-says-welfare-entitlement-reform-not-on-2018-agenda-2519125810.html">Axios event</a> Thursday morning that entitlement reform would be impossible without Democratic support and that he "would not expect to see that on the agenda."</span></p><p><span>"What the Democrats are willing to do is important, because in the Senate, with rare exceptions like the tax bill, we have to have Democratic involvement," McConnell added.</span></p><p><span>Top Democrats essentially confirmed McConnell's idea that entitlement reforms are completely off the table.</span></p><p><span>Ways and Means ranking member Richard Neal said "it subtracts from their credibility" to want to cut entitlement spending after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-gop-tax-reform-bill-pass-house-bracket-rates-changes-2017-12">passing</a> the major tax overhaul on Wednesday that most <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-gop-tax-reform-bill-analysis-reviews-text-2017-11">credible analyses</a> project will increase the federal deficit by at least $1 trillion.</span></p><p><span>Entitlement reform "is going to be very difficult now," Neal added. "Very very difficult."</span></p><p><span>House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference Thursday that holding the line on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security "</span><span>will be part of our fight in this year."</span></p><p><span>"</span><span>Social Security is in reasonable shape until at least 2030-something," Pelosi said. "But nonetheless, we want that to be even longer and these are issues that can be talked about separately. But we will fight to defend them because they are about the health and economic security of America's working families and we will not use Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security as an ATM machine for the Republicans to give tax breaks to their wealthy friends and corporate America."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/divided-family-donald-trump-election-undividing-america-2017-7">A mother and daughter stopped speaking after Trump was elected - here's their emotional first conversation after the long silence</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/s3XkPK9A-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Paul Ryan wants to target Medicare and Social Security next - but it may have to wait until Trump's 2nd term

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59f39da13e9d251d008b65e7-1438/gettyimages-664479328.jpg" alt="Martha McSally" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Martha McSally." /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Martha McSally.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Republican Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona is considered to be the Republican establishment's favorite to replace Sen. Jeff Flake.</strong></li><li><strong>She has a history of critical comments aimed at President Donald Trump.</strong></li><li><strong>But she is also the member of Arizona's GOP House delegation, whose votes most closely align with Trump's agenda.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Republican Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona is emerging as the GOP establishment's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-flake-bob-corker-blast-trump-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">favorite to replace</a> retiring <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-flake-run-for-president-2020-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sen. Jeff Flake</a>.</p><p>But McSally could run into trouble in a possible run against Republican opponents including former state Sen. Kelli Ward - who is backed by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and pro-President Donald Trump media - for past comments critical of Trump.</p><p><a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/the-run/articles/2017-10-26/martha-mcsally-looks-in-line-to-battle-kelli-ward-in-arizona-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US News and World Report reported</a> Thursday that McSally was taking steps toward launching a campaign for Flake's seat, as she indicated interest in the vacancy during a closed-door meeting with the rest of Arizona's GOP House delegation. The news came after three of Arizona's other GOP congressmen - Reps. Trent Franks, Paul Gosar, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rep-david-schweikert-jeff-flake-senate-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">David Schweikert</a> - ruled out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-gears-up-for-a-wide-open-race-with-jeff-flakes-retirement-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">runs for Flake's seat</a>.</p><p>GOP sources told the outlet that McSally has become the consensus candidate of lawmakers and donors, with one congressional aide saying she's expected to run.</p><p>But in an environment in which Bannon has promised to challenge the establishment at every level in 2018, McSally's past Trump criticism could become an issue.</p><p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/martha-mcsally-town-hall/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">During a town hall earlier this year</a>, for instance, she called the early weeks of the administration "tremendously bumpy."</p><p>"Some of their decisions and the way they have implemented them have certainly not been well coordinated, not well implemented," she said. "I'm concerned about distractions. I'm concerned about not shifting from campaigning to governing."</p><p>"He's our president. So what are we going to do about it?" McSally said.</p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/06/12/secretly-taped-remarks-arizona-congresswoman-forecasts-trouble-gop/102776408/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In a secretly taped recording posted</a> this spring, McSally, who represents somewhat of a swing district in the state, said the current political environment "would have me not prevail" and that "we're going to hand the gavel to Pelosi in 2018," referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.</p><p>"They only need 23 seats and the path to that gavel being handed over is through my seat," <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/337211-gop-lawmaker-trump-will-hand-the-gavel-to-pelosi-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">she said</a>, noting that "any" GOP member of Congress is "going down with the ship."</p><p>"There's just an element out there that's just, like, so against the president," <a href="http://tucson.com/news/rep-martha-mcsally-reveals-her-uncomfortable-position-in-the-trump/article_1042e745-1256-5125-b052-a1cb411be614.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">she said</a>. "Like they just can't see straight. And all of a sudden on January 20, I'm like his twin sister. I'm, like, responsible for everything he does, and tweets and says. And they want me to be spending my time as a pundit. 'I disagree with that. I agree with this.' I have a job in the legislature! ... We're doing the best we can through the minefield that we have to navigate with a tremendous amount of distractions out there."</p><p>McSally refused to make an endorsement <a href="https://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2016/07/25/martha-mcsally-is-not-endorsing-donald-trump-so-you-can-stop-asking-about-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">during the presidential campaign</a>, but said of Trump, "That's just not how leaders carry themselves."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59f496433e9d2514048b66d4-1280/ap16139581782759.jpg" alt="Re. Martha McSally" data-mce-source="Molly Riley/AP" data-mce-caption="Re. Martha McSally" /><p class="source"><span>Molly Riley/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Re. Martha McSally</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"But I don't think people should dismiss what he is hearing from people about the level of frustration about lack of opportunity and concerns about safety and security," she said. "How you deal with that, what you think the solution is - hopefully we can get to where that's a battle of ideas of public policy solutions for complex problems as opposed to a WWF tournament."</p><p>The Bannon faction has already begun to sound the alarm on McSally.</p><p>"If the McConnell establishment runs another 'Never Trumper' in Arizona like Martha McSally, expect the full weight of the president's America First movement to come down upon her like a ton of bricks," Andy Surabian, an adviser to the Trump-aligned Great America Alliance and a close Bannon adviser, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/the-run/articles/2017-10-26/martha-mcsally-looks-in-line-to-battle-kelli-ward-in-arizona-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told US News</a>.</p><p>Several influential conservative groups, including the Club for Growth and FreedomWorks, said Friday they would oppose a McSally run.</p><p>A representative for McSally didn't respond to a request for comment.</p><p>But McSally does have Trump bona-fides that she could stand behind during a campaign. <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2017/10/01/nine-months-in-rep-martha-mcsally-arizonas-most-reliable-vote-trump-agenda/708943001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Arizona Republic recently</a> reported that McSally is the state's most reliable vote in Congress for Trump's agenda - more so than the state's multiple Freedom Caucus members. And in May <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/02/remarks-president-trump-presentation-commander-chief-trophy-united" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remarks</a> at the White House, Trump called McSally "my friend" and the "real deal."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/599c4129f1a8501c008b676a-1178/ap16242860932955.jpg" alt="Kelli Ward" data-mce-source="Ross D. Franklin/AP" data-mce-caption="Kelli Ward." /><p class="source"><span>Ross D. Franklin/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Kelli Ward.</p></div><p></p></div></div>At the moment, Ward is the frontrunner for the seat. But many fear that she is too fringe of a candidate to win in a general election. Last year, Ward ran a losing primary campaign against Sen. John McCain.</p><p>What <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-media-kelli-ward-jeff-flake-arizona-primary-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ward has going for her is increased</a> name recognition and the backing of Trump's "America First" coalition.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-flake-kelli-ward-trump-arizona-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump has tweeted in support</a> of Ward's candidacy, but he has not endorsed the former state senator.</p><p>And one of Trump's top donors, the billionaire hedge fund manager Robert Mercer, has donated $300,000 to a pro-Ward super PAC, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/22/trump-phoenix-arizona-jeff-flake-241878" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Politico reported</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-flake-primary-meeting-phoenix-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">But in the same month</a>, following a Phoenix rally, Trump met with two possible candidates who had yet to jump into the race: Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit and former state GOP Chairman Robert Graham.</p><p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2017/10/26/martha-mcsally-paul-gosar-show-interest-running-jeff-flakes-senate-seat-arizona/804887001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In addition to DeWit and Graham</a>, former Rep. Matt Salmon and Jay Heiler, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, are also considered to be potential candidates in the race.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eight-prototypes-trump-border-wall-finished-in-san-diego-mexico-politics-patrol-customs-budget-congress-2017-10">One of these prototypes could become Trump's border wall</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/47pBIu39-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "David Schweikert" and got 11 results

Toyota said it would stop donating to Republicans who voted against Biden's certification, having given tens of thousands of dollars since the Capitol riots

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Potential frontrunner to replace Jeff Flake just hinted that he might not run: 'I'm not sure I have the burning passion that that type of race would take'

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Fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America's government. But that may be changing.

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Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is the first member of Congress to test positive for coronavirus

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Some federal lawmakers and their staffers are all in on cryptocurrency speculation as Congress mulls how (or how not) to regulate the coins

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A key figure in the GOP's tax plan could spell bad news for the economy

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Republicans are already scrambling for a plan to fill Jeff Flake's Senate seat

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Democrats projected to retain their House majority but lose key seats to Republicans

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WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump

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Paul Ryan wants to target Medicare and Social Security next - but it may have to wait until Trump's 2nd term

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The GOP establishment is rallying around a new frontrunner to replace Jeff Flake - but she's been repeatedly critical of Trump

Allan Smith