Chairmanships lost in Democrat takeover
By Allison Stevens | Arizona Mirror
Life in the U.S. House minority is no fun.
That, at least, is the view of Rep. David Schweikert, one of four Arizona Republicans in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress.
“It’s intensely frustrating,” he recently told the Arizona Mirror.
A half-year after the GOP lost control of the House, Schweikert and the three other Republicans in Arizona’s congressional delegation have lost the power and influence that come with majority control – perks their party enjoyed for the past eight years.
“It’s obviously harder when you’re in the minority to get bills passed,” said Rep. Debbie Lesko, a second-term Republican from the 8th District. “We’re more in defense mode.”
Schweikert, a six-term Republican from Fountain Hills, lost his majority seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Now a minority member on that committee – and in the House – he says he sometimes has trouble accessing even basic resources, like answers to constituent questions.
