House Speaker Election Delay Impacted End of Year Legislative Priorities, Says O’Neill

Kevin O’Neill, chair of the Legislative & Public Policy practice group, was recently quoted in The Washington Post article, “How Do You Lobby a House Without a Speaker?” The article discusses how the 3-week delay in electing a speaker for the U.S. House of Representatives following Kevin McCarthy’s removal had an impact on legislating, client advocacy work, and lobbying House Republican staffers.

In particular, lawmakers’ end of year priorities — which include reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, passing a farm bill and the annual defense policy bill, and funding the government — were brought to a halt without a speaker, which O’Neill said ultimately squandered some “of the most valuable and productive weeks of an off-year legislative cycle.”

» Read the full article (subscription required).