WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Oregon’s freshman Republican in Congress says she’s getting to know the new House Speaker and helping him understand her priorities.
U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer took a lot of political heat for her vote in support of Speaker Mike Johnson. "After all the chaos, we needed to get back to work," she told KBND News Thursday, "We needed a consensus speaker amongst the Republican Conference. And that was Speaker Johnson."
She says she didn’t have many interactions with him in his role as Vice Chair of the Republican conference, and acknowledges they have different opinions on issues like abortion. "Whether it be in regards to abortion, whether it be in regards to January sixth - which I was not here for. But my job as a freshman legislator is to make sure he understands the values of Oregon." She adds, "My job is to give him the benefit of the doubt with me, specifically, and to see if his ears and eyes and heart are open to what the values of Oregonians are. And I will know probably over a matter of time. I want him to be successful and I want him to want me to be successful."
Chavez-DeRemer met Thursday with Speaker Johnson’s staff, "They were in my office. They came [and] I spent about 30 minutes with the Member Services Director getting through all of that, what the valuables are to me. We’re talking about tolling, whether we’re talking about the fentanyl crisis, whether we’re talking about the homelessness and housing, and the mental health crisis; all the things I’ve been working on."
She says she's scheduled to meet one-on-one with the Speaker next week. "He’s got a big job to do. It’s going to be different for him than just representing Louisiana," says Chavez-DeRemer, "He now has to represent really 435 districts. But within the Republican conference, our job is to let him know ‘here’s the values of Oregonians and here’s what I’ll stand for.’"
Congress must approve 12 Appropriations bills by November 17th to avoid a government shutdown. Chavez-DeRemer says funding the government is now her top priority, and she believes Speaker Johnson is open to passing a gap-funding bill if they don’t meet the deadline.
