Republicans jockey for tax-writing gavel

The race to replace Rep. Paul Ryan as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is heating up, with candidates jockeying for the coveted gavel ahead of an election year expected to feature high-profile fights over taxes and trade.

At least two House Republicans — Reps. Pat Tiberi (Ohio) and Kevin Brady (Texas) — will seek the chairmanship of the influential panel following Ryan’s (R-Wis.) reluctant bid to succeed outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

{mosads}A third, Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), is considering whether join the race for Ryan’s job, one of the most powerful House chairmanships.

Brady, the most senior member in the mix, is seen as the early favorite to lead the committee, which oversees tax, trade and health policy.

But there is talk that Tiberi, chairman of the panel’s subcommittee on trade, could mount a tough challenge.

Nunes, who led the trade subcommittee before Tiberi and is third in line for the gavel, probably won’t make a decision until after Thursday’s election, when Ryan is expected to be chosen as Speaker, according to one congressional source.

The 42-year-old is already chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Sources say that Brady has the needed “gravitas” with the members of the panel and has both a proven work ethic and an ability to grasp complex issues.

He is chairman of the health subcommittee, formerly led the trade subpanel and is the top House Republican on, and former chairman of, the Joint Economic Committee.

Brady was in the trenches on producing the recent Medicare payment overhaul and has seen Congress through rougher days on trade, including being the point man for a pact with Central America and supporter of 2011 deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

He told The Hill recently that his desire is to pass the recently completed Trans-Pacific Partnership — if he decides to support it — early next year and well ahead of the crunch of the 2016 elections.

One knock against Brady’s bid is his home state: Right now, six Texans are House committee chairmen, a possible point of contention for his ascension to the top job.

In an interview Monday, Brady told The Hill that his broad committee experience, as well as his ability to work with Republicans of all stripes, makes him an appealing candidate.

“They know me, and they know that I can work across the spectrum,” he said.

Brady, who is the second-most senior member on the tax-writing panel, was passed over for the helm last year in favor of Ryan. But he said his abbreviated run for the post gives him a “strong base” to launch a second bid.

While confident in his bona fides, Brady said he was ready for a competitive race against Tiberi and potentially others.

“Competition’s good for the conference, certainly good for the committee,” he said. 

Tiberi, who is fourth-most senior on the panel, is building his pitch around how he believes the committee should operate, saying he wants to include as many members as possible in the committee’s work. 

The panel, he said, should prioritize getting things done over scoring political points.

“I believe Americans elected us to legislate, not to grandstand,” he said in a statement. “As chairman I will encourage a member-driven, inclusive committee process that will generate conservative policies that put American workers and American families first.”

Tiberi, a close Boehner ally, has taken an approach similar to Brady’s in drilling down on the issues, one source said.

The source said he is “very practical and pragmatic,” qualities that would serve him well on the panel.

He also may cite Ryan’s rise on the panel — leapfrogging Brady — as evidence that seniority isn’t all that counts. 

Republicans have adhered less to strict seniority in doling out committee gavels than Democrats typically have, providing other members with an opening. Under a 1994 GOP rule, lawmakers can hold the gavel for six years.

Ultimately, Ryan himself will have significant sway over who takes the gavel he held for less than a year. Deeply involved in tax reform and other financial issues, he would undoubtedly have a keen interest in who carries on his work on the panel.

At least publicly, Ryan is taking an understated role in the race. A Ryan spokesman said Monday that picking the next chairman would be up to the House GOP steering committee.

Of course, Ryan would be able to flex significant muscle on the committee if he is Speaker. He would control five votes out of the 20 a candidate would need to become chairman, along with the heightened influence of an incoming Speaker among the other voting members.

“He has obviously seen both members up close,” said one K Street source, referring to Brady and Tiberi. “He knows their strengths and weaknesses probably better than anybody else.”