What Republicans are planning if they win the House majority

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican House leadership have long been preparing for it. Building on his “Commitment to America” agenda from the 2020 cycle, House Republicans have been working on developing policy platforms through “task forces” ranging from the economy to China to border security. McCarthy assigned more than half the Republican members to seven issue-specific task forces, and several of the groups have developed frameworks and legislative text. Other members are working on issues concurrently within their current committees.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, famous for winning back the House in 1994 with the “Contract with America,” is working with House Republican leaders on developing their midterm elections platform, the Washington Post reported. McCarthy recently told Breitbart that Republicans would release a “Commitment to America” for 2022.

McCarthy’s office told the Washington Examiner that the full agenda will be released later this year before the fall.

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The attitude is notably different from Republicans on the Senate side. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has told Republicans and donors that Republicans won’t release a legislative agenda for the 2022 elections, Axios reported in December.

When asked in a press conference earlier this month what the Republican agenda would be if the party takes control of the Senate, McConnell responded, “That’s a very good question. And I’ll let you know when we take it back.” He went on to say that the midterm elections will be a referendum on the Biden administration and Democratic control in Washington.

But House Republican leaders have already revealed some of what is on the forefront of their agenda. Those include:

• Pass a “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” Republicans in November released draft legislation that aims to require school districts to post curriculum publicly, require teachers to offer two in-person meetings per year, prevent schools from selling or sharing student data without parental permission, and require schools to notify parents of violent activity on school grounds. McCarthy said on a recent episode of the Ruthless podcast it would be one of Republicans’ first 10 bills.

• China COVID-19 accountability measures. A plan released by House Republicans’ China Task Force last year called for legislation to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, prohibiting U.S. funding for gain-of-function research for anyone with ties with the Chinese Communist Party, sanctions, and visa admissibility restrictions on those associated with the Chinese Communist Party, and waiving sovereign immunity so families of those who died from COVID-19 can sue the Chinese government for damages.

• Take an aggressive oversight posture. In the minority, Republicans on committees do not have the power to compel witnesses to speak under oath. In the majority, Republicans aim to use that power liberally, particularly if they do not have a supermajority to overcome filibusters in the Senate or override any vetoes from President Joe Biden. 

  Areas that the GOP wants to investigate include the catastrophic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the origins of COVID-19, the National School Boards Association’s relationship with the Department of Justice after it asked federal agencies to stop “threats of violence” on school officials, and the Biden administration’s policies on the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans have already issued preservation notices and document requests to relevant agencies and individuals relating to these items.

• Eliminate House rules implemented by Pelosi. If made speaker, McCarthy would eliminate the COVID-19 era rule that allows members to have a colleague vote for them by proxy, get rid of fines for members who do not wear face masks on the House floor, get rid of the magnetometers that lawmakers must walk through before entering the House floor, and reopen the Capitol to public tours.

• Take on Big Tech. A framework to take on Big Tech calls to reform Section 230, prevent the companies from discriminating based on political affiliation, increase their transparency, and strengthen antitrust review. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rogers and Jim Jordan released a draft discussion bill in July 2021 that would remove large companies from Section 230 protections and require them to implement an appeals process for users.

  McCarthy also recently backed a bipartisan antitrust bill from Colorado Rep. Ken Buck that would give state attorneys general more control over where antitrust litigation is conducted. The conservative House Freedom Caucus supports the bill as well.

• Strip certain House Democrats from certain committees. In retaliation for Democrats removing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees, McCarthy told Breitbart that Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar should not be on the Foreign Affairs Committee, California Rep. Adam Schiff should not be on the Intelligence Committee (which he currently leads), and California Rep. Eric Swalwell should not be on the intelligence or homeland security committees.

When it comes to border security, Republicans have called on Biden to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy in full, implement Title 42, require a negative COVID-19 test before releasing migrants, and send a message that individuals should not come to the U.S. illegally. In the energy sphere, Republican leaders have also advocated repealing moratoriums on drilling, mining, and leasing, as well as accelerating pipeline development.

Some ideas continue to be in development and on the official agenda for the majority. For instance, McCarthy has also floated new restrictions on members trading individual stocks, but Republican members are not all on board with the idea of banning members from trading individual stocks altogether.

McCarthy is looking at possible legislative solutions to address conflict of interest in members trading stocks and ensure that members do not get special treatment, according to a source close to McCarthy’s thinking.

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Beyond Republican leadership, other factions may bring additional topics to the forefront of the 2022 election cycle and 2023 Republican agenda.

The Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, is also working on agenda items that they hope to deploy in 2023. RSC has released a draft fiscal year 2022 budget, endorsed election reform legislation called the Save Democracy Act, and proposed a healthcare plan that includes expanding health savings accounts and eliminating Affordable Care Act mandates.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story stated that every Republican member was assigned to an issue task force.