House Republicans are circulating a manual to committees with instructions on how to set up hearings outside of Washington, D.C., that will grab media attention.
The House Administration Committee released the guide titled “Running An Effective Committee Field Hearing: Guidance & Best Practices” to all Republican committee staff. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is pushing for more “field hearings” in areas relevant to Republican policy priorities.
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“With Republicans once again in the majority, one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s priorities is restoring this institution back to the people and ensuring that every American can engage with Congress,” the guide summary obtained by the Washington Examiner says. “Committee field hearings provide a unique opportunity to go directly into communities across the nation and get out of D.C.”
Field hearings “provide a unique opportunity to actually spend time in communities that are directly impacted by the issues we are talking about,” Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) told Axios.
The guide details how to engage media attention, including by embedding reporters from conservative outlets, buying targeted Facebook ads in the congressional districts where the hearings will be hosted, and pushing highlights from the discussion on social media. Axios noted that the guide specifically names Sinclair Broadcast Group, a large media conglomerate, as a good connection to increase publicity.
A senior Administration Committee aide told the Washington Examiner, “The main focus of the guide is to help staff run effective field hearings with a focus on policy, oversight, and communications. The guide lays out some specifics (like staff contact information, how to request the House Recording Studio to livestream the hearing, rules from the committees’ congressional handbook, etc.) as well as some best practices.”
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Republicans won’t have much success passing legislation while the Democrats control the Senate and White House, so the field hearings will serve as a method of building rapport with voters. The Ways and Means Committee already held a hearing in West Virginia to discuss the economy in Appalachia, and the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a session in Texas next week to talk about the fentanyl trade and other issues at the southern border.
The GOP is also using hearings as a potent tool in Washington. The party established two new committees to investigate the United States’s relationship with China and the weaponization of the federal government against conservatives.
