Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) was elected chairman of the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans, in a unanimous vote on Wednesday.
“I certainly want to work with the consensus of our members to get to a working majority because that’s what we want to do, is not just be in the majority — we want a majority that actually gets things accomplished,” Joyce said after the Wednesday meeting.
Joyce has been in Congress since 2013. He sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and is ranking member on its Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) announced last week that he would step down as chairman of the caucus that he had led since 2017, which was formerly known as the Tuesday Group, in order to provide for a smooth transition. He is not running for reelection and will leave Congress at the end of the year.
Katko threw his support behind Joyce, who ran for the position unopposed, last week.
Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) was elected to another term as vice chair, and Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah) was also elected as a vice chair, replacing Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who is also not running for reelection.
While running for the position, Joyce said he wanted to establish the caucus as commonsense dealmakers critical to effective governing.
In Joyce’s first meeting as chair on Wednesday, he welcomed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who listened in on the meeting and discussed the “Commitment to America” platform that House Republicans plan to release ahead of the midterm elections.
“I think he’s very impressive,” McCarthy said of Joyce. “Look at his background for being the prosecutor and you look at his ability to policy, to move bills. He’s strong on his issues. He’s not afraid to debate them. I think he’s going to make the group even stronger with his leadership.”
The caucus of 46 moderate Republicans may grow in influence in the next Congress if the midterm election cycle is favorable to the GOP, particularly if Republicans keep and win the kinds of swing districts that tend to produce more ideologically moderate Republicans members. The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting a large number of currently Democratic-held districts that President Biden won, many by more than 10 points.