Private-sector paydays threaten Mike Johnson's House majority

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

11 hours ago


House Republicans' hunt for cold, hard cash threatens to further complicate Speaker Mike Johnson's majority — which is on track to be the narrowest since the Great Depression.

Why it matters: Johnson's power flows from his close bond with President-elect Trump. Keeping that power will depend on how many of Johnson's members he can convince to defer their big paydays until after 2025.

Salary is a major sore spot for House lawmakers. They last got a pay bump to $174,000 in 2009 and are banned from the lucrative advances on book deals that their Senate colleagues enjoy.

Just Monday, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) joined — and then deactivated — a Cameo account offering personalized video pep talks for $250 a pop.

Her colleagues aren't that far off: Multiple House Republicans have told Axios they'd be eager to monetize their X accounts, among other side hustles.

🚨 But the real threat to Johnson's majority is people leaving for private-sector jobs.

At least five House lawmakers quit Congress early in the last two years to pursue private-sector paychecks. Another four resigned early for other reasons, two died in office and one was expelled.

If similar patterns play out over the next two years, Johnson's majority is permanently at risk.

"They're going to need to do something because it impacts recruitment," one member told Axios. "You'll get rich people or people that can't get better jobs."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/11/26/mike-johnson-congress-cameo-jobs-books

[jmbar2]

1. I never thought about congresscritters feeling the paycheck pinch

I LOVE how you summarized and formatted for easy and quick reading. Kudos!

That's really not a lot of money these days for folks maintaining a DC residence and one back home. Of course they have a lot of slush funds available as well...

They may start feeling the effects of Trump's inflationary policies like the rest of us. Good!

[GB_RN]

2. In Washington, DC...

Housing is expensive AF. It’s not uncommon for you to see multiple reps/senators sharing an apartment.

[jmbar2]

4. It would be especially hard when there is so much changeover every election

I imagine finding a place to live after an election would be like musical chairs.

Joe Biden was smart all these years to just take the train.

[GB_RN]

5. Two Years Ago...

When Maxwell Frost was elected, I remember reading about how he was having difficulty finding an apartment, due in part to the expense and the fact that they get paid once a month, so it was going to be a bit before he could even make a rental deposit. There was at least one Repuke who tried making fun of him for it. It didn’t go well for that clown.

[jmbar2]

6. Wow - didn't think of the impact on young and nonaffluent reps

I'm a part time substitute and once a month paydays are REALLY hard to manage.

[GB_RN]

7. Yeah, It's Not Easy...

Going into the job for new members of Congress who don’t have a lot of money. That’s partly why Congress is so full of rich people. Your average person can’t afford 1) to run for office because they basically can’t work while campaigning and 2) as stated above, DC isn’t cheap to live in.

[cstanleytech]

23. If someone in DC that breaks their back working in retail or the service industry can afford something so can they.

It might not be the McMansion that they feel they are entitled because they are an elected official but tough shit.

[FakeNoose]

26. At least some of this is straight-out racism

The population of Washington DC is something like 80% minorities to 20% white. These incoming politicos want to be in high-priced all white areas - you know, the gated-community types - and there aren't many vacancies in those places. So between what they want and what they can afford, it's a tight squeeze.

Try living in a friendly, affordable, safe neighborhood with black neighbors! I'm doing it as well as many others here on DU. I've had no complaints for the last 30 years.

[GB_RN]

28. Sorry, But NOT All Of Them Are Rolling In Money...

Before being elected. And rent in DC is fucking astronomical.

The average rent in Washington, DC varies by the number of bedrooms in the apartment, with the average rent for a studio being lower than that of a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom apartment:
Studio: $1,867 per month
One bedroom: $2,302 per month
Two bedroom: $3,089 per month
Three bedroom: $3,878 per month
The median rent for a house in Washington, DC is $2,500, with a range of $685–$25,000.

I’m fairly well compensated as a nurse (comparatively speaking), but I couldn’t afford that rent. I need a 2 Br because my son lives with me. No fucking way I could toss out what’s more than double what I pay now.

You’re lumping EVERY member of Congress together with all the rich Congress critters. It doesn’t work that way. Not all of them are born with silver spoons up their noses. Maxwell Frost is not, nor was he rolling in dough when he won in ‘22; he was just 25 when he was elected. Not many people that age making enough money to go right into DC and get a place, and he was no exception: He basically wasn’t working while running, as that’s a full time job. In addition, he’d had to run up personal debt to finance his campaign. That debt was one reason he couldn’t get an apartment.

[cstanleytech]

30. Ok, let's say that their shelling out 3k for rent and 2500 for utilities and food for total of 33000 a year.

$174,000 - 40% for taxes at most = $104,400 - $33,000 = $71,400
Ya, I know they need to travel back and forth to their States, I get that but instead of a pay raise they should get something like a debit card for them to use to pay for themselves and one other for up to 52 flights to and from their home state only...... economy class.

[GB_RN]

31. I Have No Problem With That.

And my line of thinking wasn’t that they necessarily deserved a pay raise, merely that DC rental prices have outpaced Congress’ paychecks - and made it almost unaffordable for some. After all, not everyone is like Josh Haul-ass Hawley, who (in violation of the Constitution) claims his sister’s address as his domicile in MO, but doesn’t actually live there, and thus, has more money for a house (whatever) as his permanent residence in NoVA.

Maintaining a residence in DC, plus your “home” back in your state adds up $$$ quickly.

[cstanleytech]

32. Ya but even then with that much money leftover after paying for DC they shouldn't have any problems there.

Unless they want enough money to pay for things like a private cook, maid and other luxuries.

[reACTIONary]

8. The formatting is part of the axios article....

This is the adios "power point" style book. Some folks like it, others detest it.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Axios does that type of formatting normally, so I try to match their formatting for the copy/paste

and I have seen Reuters do it at times as well!

[AltairIV]

3. They should quit then.

$174,000 for a part time job that has fewer qualifications than a stock boy job at Macy's or Stop and Shop is grossly overpaid.

[Lochloosa]

10. My Step-Brother is a Congressman. He's is an accomplished lawyer.

He can't afford to rent in DC, so he has slept on his office couch for years. He has to fly coach when he goes home (and it's a very long flight) and eats in the commissary and showers in the House Gym.

His job is far from "part time". I'll bet he works longer hours than you ever have.

He accepts the $175K because he cares about his District and this Country. He could walk away with a 7 figure salary, but chooses to stay and fight the good fight.

He could "quit" like 8 million voters in the Democratic Party chose to do this year. But, he is better than that.

[mountain grammy]

17. I'll take a wild guess that he's a Democrat

I thank him for his service.

[Lochloosa]

18. Die Hard Democrat. He's one of the good ones. I'll pass it on.

He's aware of DU.

[IronLionZion]

9. Who is paying Bobo for pep talks?

[johnnyfins]

13. Prolly a $250 peep show

[Fla Dem]

12. Certainly a positive situation to look forward to. But don't the Dems have the same situation?

The bottom line: Even at full strength, the House GOP majority will be at most 221-214. That's a what margin nightmares are made of.

We have to hold our 214 to capitalize on any losses the Rethugs experience. But we're as vulnerable to sickness, death, retirement or leaving for a better job losses as the Rethugs.

Nothing is for certain.

[eppur_se_muova]

19. But Uglicans are more eager to sell their principles for cash, so more of them likely to leave.

Sucks to be them.

[Diraven]

29. Only Republicans

Have wingnut welfare

[orleans]

14. bobo was doing pep talks on cameo?

damn! it would have been worth it to pay her for a pep talk about how we shouldn't lose hope about trump being thrown in jail

[SpankMe]

15. If I win the $400M+ Mega lottery, here's my plan

Find Republican House members who are, a) in vulnerable districts and 2) in states with Democratic governors...and offer them $2M each to resign and pursue careers in the private sector. I'll pay their mortgage and I'll pay for executive job search services until they're employed at positions that pay more than their House salary.

If Elon can buy Trump the presidency, I can buy the House.

[onenote]

16. The Axios summary of the departures from the House the past two years has a couple of errors

While it is correct that 11 vacancies opened up and were filled via special elections the past two years, only three were specifically job-related departures and there were three deaths, not two.

The eleven vacancies can be summarized as follows:

SIX REPUBLICAN VACANCIES:
1 Expelled (Santos)
1 job-related (Johnson)
4 non-job related (McCarthy, Buck, Gallagher, Stewart)

FIVE DEMOCRATIC VACANCIES:
3 deaths (Payne, Lee, McEachin)
2 job-related (Cicilline, Higgins)

The only special election resulting in a change in the party holding the seat was the election of Tom Suozzi to replace the expelled Santos.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. You missed some of the point of the article and the fact that the 118th Congress is STILL in session

TO correct your below -

The eleven fifteen vacancies can be summarized as follows:

SIX EIGHT REPUBLICAN VACANCIES:
1 Expelled (Santos)
1 3 job-related (Johnson, Waltz, Gaetz, Stefanik*)
4 non-job related (McCarthy, Buck, Gallagher, Stewart)

*will resign Jan. 20, 2025


FIVE SIX DEMOCRATIC VACANCIES:
3 4 deaths (Payne, Lee, McEachin, Pascrell)
2 job-related (Cicilline, Higgins)

https://clerk.house.gov/Members/ViewVacancies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/16/congress-lawmakers-resignations/

I think Axios was sort of doing an "update" of that March WaPo article (which they actually link to).

[onenote]

21. Thanks for the update and for confirming that the Axios article contained errors.

This is from the Axis article: "At least five House lawmakers quit Congress early in the last two years to pursue private-sector paychecks. Another four resigned early for other reasons, two died in office and one was expelled."

As your post indicates, during the past two years, four members died in office, not two. And only three left "to pursue private-sector paychecks". And while Gaetz resigned during the 118th Congress, Stefanik and Waltz, are not resigning after the start of the 119th Congress and all three left not for private sector positions, but to pursue portions in the Trump administration, not in the private sector.

Thusly corrected, the Axios article should have said: "At least five Three House lawmakers quit Congress early the last two years to pursue private-sector paychecks. At least another five resigned early for other reasons, two four died in office and one was expelled."

[BumRushDaShow]

22. The fact that they even used "at least"

should have clued you on the "estimating" since this is obviously a fluid situation, with 45 pulling people for appointee positions.

In a related example, am also keeping an eye on people like Raúl M. Grijalva, who was diagnosed with cancer and missed much of this past year's session.

My own Congressman Dwight Evans had a stroke this past May and also missed a number of votes, although he easily got re-elected as he was unopposed in what has often been dubbed one of the bluest districts in the country - currently PA-3 (previously PA-2) (I sat in on his "telephone townhall" call last week).

[onenote]

24. The article definitely could have used a better editor.

Using "at least" in the same sentence as "in the past two years" suggests that the article is looking back, not forward, in its description of the departures due to a member looking for a private sector payday. And "at least" doesn't modify the rest of the article's description of the number of departures and the reasons therefor. Maybe its my journalism training and my decades of legal practice that makes me critical of inaccurate writing.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. All of the news sites lack good editors

many having laid them off for "financial" reasons.

I expect the "2 years" is to cover the entirety of the 118th Congress" (since there were some "late" special elections where a couple vacancies were finally filled over the summer and fall). And since we are post-election, portends what will be a more issues for the 119th Congress in terms of "razor thin" margins and people bailing early (and probably hints at what might finally lead to them raising their salaries, although per the 27th Amendment, that new amount wouldn't go into effect until the 120th Congress)!

[moose65]

25. Here's an idea......

With all of the government-owned buildings in DC, surely it would be possible to convert some of them into apartments or "dorms" for the Reps to live in, wouldn't it? I seem to recall reading an article along those lines in the past few years.

House reps are supposed to work for their constituents, not their rich donors. What would be wrong with allowing them to rent a room or a studio apartment or whatever we want to call it, for their use while in DC? I have read several accounts of House members sleeping on couches in their offices.

I think that AOC had a hard time finding a place when she was first elected. If a member comes in from a regular job and they haven't been paid yet, I could see them having trouble finding a place to live.

That being said, they haven't had a raise in 15 years. $174,000 in 2009 would be $256,000 today, adjusting for inflation.