Brendan F. Boyle

As Boyle explained, “McCarthy has bent over backward to give the Freedom Caucus everything they want. And they still say no to his face. I just wish for once that he would stand up to them and not be so afraid of having them put a motion to vacate the chair on the floor.” Nancy Pelosi describes McCarthy’s tenure as “an incredible shrinking speakership.”

In an interview I had with Boyle recently, he noted that several of his Republican colleagues have privately expressed “great relief at the prospect that we would never again have to play with the debt ceiling.” While the legislation is unlikely to pass this Congress, Boyle promises to make it his highest priority come January 2025.

The shortcomings of Congress represent a failure of politics. Instead of practicing the political process, the extreme wing of McCarthy’s caucus practices performance. By inciting the emotions of their supporters and getting them to make small-dollar contributions, far-right Republicans exert their power. For example, in just the first half of 2023, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has raised $1.7 million for her reelection campaign. No surprise then that McCarthy has promised: “I will never leave that woman. I will always take care of her.”

As with the other Republican-instigated government shutdowns, voters will remember and exact their own form of punishment. Should this political maxim prevail, come 2025 Boyle will find himself in the chairperson’s seat of the House Budget Committee.

In Congress, Brendan has never forgot where he’s from or what he’s fighting for. As a member of the House Budget Committee, Brendan is fighting to ensure that our budget expands opportunities for all Americans. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, he is committed to ensuring a cohesive policy agenda that supports our communities and the priorities of working families.

Use the federal budget to expand opportunities for Americans.

• Apply Budget Committee work toward broadly shared economic opportunity.

Advance a cohesive federal policy agenda supporting local communities and working-family priorities.

• Use Ways and Means Committee responsibilities toward those goals.

Introduced legislation allowing the Treasury secretary to pay federal obligations unless Congress adopts a disapproval resolution.

• Replace recurring debt-ceiling brinkmanship with a disapproval process.

Prioritize reform that prevents debt-ceiling standoffs from disrupting payment of federal obligations.

• Continue advancing the Debt Ceiling Reform Act approach.

Co-founded the Blue Collar Caucus to develop legislation on wage stagnation, job insecurity, trade, offshoring, and careers in manufacturing and building trades.

• Coordinate lawmakers around blue-collar economic policy.

Co-chaired the Jobs With Dignity task force developing a Democratic economic agenda.

• Focus policy development on dignified work and economic security.

Supported increased public-school funding and Pennsylvania's Act 89 transportation law and opposed cuts to schools and organized-labor protections.

• Preserve these state legislative actions as records, not new federal promises.