WASHINGTON, DC – With Members of the U.S. House of Representatives returning to Washington next week to continue work on their 2023 policy agenda, The Ripon Society hosted a meeting yesterday evening with the staff of one of the Members who is helping to shape and drive that agenda — Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
The meeting featured remarks by Brett Horton, who serves as Chief of Staff to the Majority Leader. In his remarks, Horton discussed some of the key accomplishments of the new Republican Majority so far this year, including the fact that the House has passed more bills, sent more rule bills to the desk of the President, and had more rule bills signed into law than the 117th Congress in its first 100 days. He also discussed some of the challenges facing the American people, and how the House plans to address these challenges in the year ahead.
Following his remarks, Horton introduced the other staff members who were joining him from the Office of the Majority Leader. These staff members included: Bart Reising, Deputy Chief of Staff; Jake Hilkin, Deputy Member Services Director; Ellen Seher, Operations Director; Sara Brooks Adams, Scheduler; Miles Johnson, Special Assistant; Ty Mills, Staff Assistant; Quentin Hout, Staff Assistant; Austin Harrison, Staff Assistant; Ben Napier, Floor Director; Annie Wolf, Deputy Floor Director; Brenna Elliott, Floor Assistant; Pete Bechtol, Floor Assistant; Michael Comer, Deputy Communications Director; Martha Mills, Deputy Press Secretary; Ethan Pann, Press and Digital Coordinator; Francis Brooke, Policy Director; Ashley Callen, General Counsel; Eric Schmitz, Policy Adviser/Conservative Coalitions; Claire Trokey, Policy Advisor/ Business Coalitions; BJ Koohmaraie, Counsel; AJ Sugarman, Policy Adviser; Alyene Mlinar, Policy Adviser; and, John Crews, Policy Advisor.
The House has passed more bills, sent more rule bills to the desk of the President, and had more rule bills signed into law than the 117th Congress in its first 100 days.
“We appreciate Brett, Bart, and the other members of Team Scalise for joining us yesterday evening,” stated Jim Conzelman, the President & CEO of The Ripon Society. “They’ve had a productive first 100 days, to say the least. They also have a full plate in front of them. From taming inflation to reducing violent crime to confronting the Chinese Communist threat, America faces a number of pressing challenges in 2023. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to not only learn more about these challenges, but meet some of the individuals who will be leading the effort to tackle them in the weeks and months ahead.”
According to Conzelman, yesterday’s reception was attended by a crowd of over 90 people and was the 14th event The Ripon Society has held so far in 2023. He noted that The Ripon Society will hold its next discussion on April 17th, when former Assistant Commerce Secretary Bruce Melhman, the current founder of Mehlman Consulting, will share his thoughts on global disequilibrium and the disruptive changes that are occurring around the world. Conzelman added that the group is also scheduled to hear from Senate Republican Policy Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA) on April 20th and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick Henry (NC-10) on April 27th.
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.