Apparently there are fancy offices and not so fancy offices on Capitol Hill.
House Republicans — two-thirds of whom have only served in the majority — are not only coming to terms with losing control over the agenda next year, but are also grappling with all the other pains that come with losing power.
That has contributed to a sour and somber mood in the Capitol as House Republicans prepare to limp their way across the finish line, with a surge of members skipping the last few vote series of the year and complicating GOP leadership’s whip operation just before the holidays.
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Republicans lost a whopping 40 seats in the midterm elections, and in doing so handed power back to the Democrats for the first time since 2010.
As a result, leadership offices will soon be switching over, with Republicans losing some of their lush office space with prime views and conference areas. Once able to fit their entire staffs in one office, certain leadership offices will now be split up on different floors.
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Other members who are on their way out the door — some of whom have been sporting casual looks and five o’clock shadows around the Capitol — appear to have a case of senioritis and have stopped showing up for floor votes, making it even tougher for congressional leaders who had been scrambling to avert a Christmastime government shutdown over the past few weeks.
Last week, outgoing GOP Reps. Lou Barletta (Pa.), Joe Barton (Texas), Dan Donovan (N.Y.), Steve Knight (Calif.) and Raúl Labrador (Idaho) all ditched the vote on the must-pass farm bill.
They're really concerned about the country, aren't they?
Democrats will also gain control of the ceremonial offices off the House floor once held by Ryan, Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calf.).
GOP members will also now have to get permission to have access to the Speaker’s Balcony — a prime piece of real estate that overlooks the Washington Monument.
And Republican conference meetings will soon take place in the Capitol Visitor Center, allowing the new Democratic majority to occupy the larger and more conveniently located meeting space in the Capitol’s basement.
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It’s not just leadership that is in for major structural and strategy changes.
The Republican and Democratic committee staffs will also swap offices — and budgets.
The majority is entitled to two-thirds of a panel’s budget while the minority receives the rest of the funds, which has forced Republicans to start paring down their staffs in preparation for the power reversal and has contributed to the wave of Republicans now competing for work.
The GOP staffers will also have to fork over their larger office spaces, which are typically located closer to the hearing room.
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Scores of lame-duck lawmakers are temporarily working out of makeshift cubicles in the House basement — a place that some staffers jokingly refer to as “loser town.”
The Hill
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