PITTSBURGH — House Republicans aren’t the most unified political family, to put it mildly. This has kept Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) plenty busy over the past 16 months as a chief vote counter.
As chief deputy whip, Reschenthaler is effectively an understudy to the House majority whip, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN). Emmer chose Reschenthaler, 41, for the role after Republicans captured a narrow House majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
The pair are charged with managing the legislative plans of the House majority, which stands at 217 GOP members to 213 Democrats. That ultra-slim House Republican edge will grow a bit in the coming members with special elections in mostly red districts. But even then, the party won’t be able to lose more than three or four seats on a legislative priority bill, assuming little or no Democratic support.
The House Republican whip team’s handiwork was on display most vividly in its successful effort to get a bill passed, since cleared by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, for $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The measures, spread over four back-to-back House votes, included fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies along with another bill meant to sweeten the deal for conservatives that could result in a nationwide ban on TikTok.
The Ukraine aid portion of the law opened a schism among House Republicans, with support from traditional foreign policy conservatives, including Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Michael Turner (R-OH), chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, respectively, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) led opposition to Ukraine aid.
In the end, 101 House Republicans backed the Ukraine aid portion while 112 voted no. All 210 Democrats voting backed it.
Even GOP leadership was split. Reschenthaler supported the proposal, along with Emmer, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Blake Moore (R-UT), and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee.
House GOP leaders voting no on Ukraine aid were Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), secretary of the House Republican Conference; and Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.
Republican rising star
Part of Reschenthaler’s job as chief deputy whip is setting up contrasts between House Republicans and the Biden administration. That means moving bills meant to crystalize differences over economic growth, immigration, the environment, and other matters, even if the proposals stand little chance of getting through the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-49 majority, let alone garnering Biden’s signature to become law.
“The American people elected a House Republican majority to put a check on President Biden and congressional Democrats’ failing agenda,” Reschenthaler said in an interview. “Our conference has members from every walk of life and corner of the country who each bring unique perspectives to the table.”
Under the leadership of Emmer, the GOP whip operation “maintains an open-door policy and consistent communication with members,” Reschenthaler said. The group is constantly facilitating discussions to find consensus, he added.
Reschenthaler represents the southern and eastern Pittsburgh exurbs, Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District. Voters there in 2020 backed former President Donald Trump over Biden, 63% to 36%, and Reschenthaler is a loyalist to the 2024 Republican nominee-in-waiting. The congressman introduced a bill earlier this year to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the former president.
Reschenthaler now is working to unite the party before November’s general election, in which House control is up for grabs. The fight will no doubt be influenced by the presidential race, with Biden and Trump both needing to win Pennsylvania to capture an Electoral College majority.
House Republicans have a big advantage, with the world on fire in a series of foreign policy crises, and lingering inflation at home.
“Under President Biden’s failed leadership, Americans face crises at home and abroad,” Reschenthaler said. “We have record-high prices on gas and groceries, an invasion at our southern border, and foreign adversaries creating unrest across the globe.”
Reschenthaler said he feels that the November election is a critical moment for voters to “end the chaos and get our country back on track.”
House Republicans “must be laser-focused on our shared goal of countering the far-left’s radical agenda that is destroying the nation we know and love,” Reschenthaler added. “Too much is at stake for anything less.”
Western Pennsylvania born and bred
A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College, Reschenthaler went on to law school at Duquesne University and joined the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps. He served in Iraq, where he prosecuted al Qaeda terrorists.
Back home, he was a Pennsylvania magisterial district judge before winning a state Senate special election in 2015. Three years later, he captured a newly drawn, deep-red western Pennsylvania House seat, covering the southern part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and the southwest corner of Pennsylvania.
Reschenthaler said he has secured $61 million for southwestern Pennsylvania through the House appropriations process for fiscal 2023, which he called “a huge win for our district.”
The funding will support workforce development programs, library improvements, law enforcement and fire departments, locks and dam construction, sewer and waterline infrastructure, and economic development.
“My position in House Republican leadership also puts a local Pennsylvanian at the leadership table who knows our shared values and interests, which creates a unique and important opportunity for our commonwealth,” said Reschenthaler, who is a member of the House Appropriations and Rules committees.
However, not everyone is so impressed. Reschenthaler faces a November challenge from Democrat Chris Dziados, an Iraq combat veteran, retired Army major, and former Pentagon policy analyst. Dziados said in an interview that he decided to run for office primarily because of the events of Jan. 6, 2021. He was stationed at the Pentagon that day, and after being directed to go home for curfew, he witnessed the dispersion of the mob that participated in the attack on the Capitol.
“Later that night, my congressman refused to certify the election for President Biden, setting a foundation that continues to undermine people’s faith in our democracy,” Dziados said. “I did not spend the last 20 years of my life protecting and defending our country to watch politicians undermine Americans’ faith in our democracy for political gain.”
Still, the district’s strong Republican lean makes Reschenthaler the strong favorite for November. He brushed off his Democratic opponent’s criticism.
“There’s a saying I often go back to: ‘Dogs don’t bark at parked cars,’” the congressman said. “If far-left radicals are outraged, it means I’m doing something right.”
More leadership opportunities could arise for Reschenthaler. Relatively recent Republican chief House deputy whips have gone on to bigger things politically, including two who rose to House speaker and former Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who spent 12 years on the other side of the Capitol in statewide elected office after his House leadership years.
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First, though, Reschenthaler has seven more months of this Congress to push through House priorities — not an easy task with a perilously slim majority, and lawmakers of the same party who sometimes act like they’re from warring tribes.
“As a member of the House Appropriations and House Rules committees, and in my capacity as the Chief Deputy Whip for the 118th Congress, I have the ability to promote commonsense policies and deliver significant results for Americans across the country — particularly southwestern Pennsylvanians,” Reschenthaler said.
Kate Oczypok is a writer in Pittsburgh.
