Long Island's House delegation faces new reality after Democrats triumph

WASHINGTON — Long Island’s four U.S. House members are in for altered clout and changed political realities in January, after Democrats dramatically flipped the chamber’s majority in Tuesday’s elections.

All four won their reelections. But Democrats Tom Suozzi, of Glen Cove, and Laura Gillen, of Rockville Centre, are set to find themselves part of a huge new controlling party in the 435-seat chamber, one with as many as 75 more seats than Republicans.

Meanwhile, Republicans Andrew Garbarino, of Bayport, and Nick LaLota, of Amityville, are seeing their clout arrow point the other way. Both face at least two years as members of the minority party in the House — with Democrats also seizing command of the Senate.

Power of influence

"Any time you move into the majority, it creates more opportunities to influence policy," Joshua Huder, a congressional expert at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute, told Newsday. "On the other side, new minority members are in a very different position. Not only did they lose policy influence, but now they have to react to the new majority's agenda."

Still, Garbarino and LaLota might have in their corner something GOP colleagues from across the country won’t. Two fellow New Yorkers, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, are likely to be the top Democratic leaders in the two chambers. On Wednesday, both Republican lawmakers were talking about bipartisanship.

A majority party controls the types of congressional hearings and investigations to be held; which bills get priority; operate with greater committee staff budgets; and higher party ratios of committee seats. But does this all necessarily translate in added clout, either in enacting legislation or in delivering funding or projects to constituents?

William Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington and a former top Senate staffer, answered: "Not unless they can work with the White House to find compromise on a legislative agenda. The president obviously still has the veto pen."

But others, including Suozzi, said any discussions about whether the new incoming Democratic Congress will wind up as a plus for Long Islanders — and New York State — also should take into account that Schumer and Jeffries, both of Brooklyn, are likely to be its new top leaders.

New York leadership

A same-state duo of Senate majority leader and House speaker has happened only twice since the late 1800s.

"While the benefits won't always make front-page news, states with congressional leaders tend to do better with funding and projects than others," said Georgetown’s Huder.

Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University who worked as a staffer for the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.), added: "I can tell you that Nevadans had a keen understanding of the ability of a party leader to both produce and protect." Baker pointed to Reid’s efforts to prevent a part of the state from becoming a nuclear waste repository.

"Nevadans knew he would move heaven and earth to prevent that," Baker said of Reid.

Perhaps no Long Island House member will feel a bigger change resulting from Tuesday's elections results than Garbarino. He is chairman of the high-profile House Committee on Homeland Security, the only delegation member to head a full committee.

Garbarino will have to hand over his gavel and agenda-setting power to a Democratic chair, and in doing so will lose control of a massive, dedicated majority staff that works for the entire committee.

His new role as a ranking member — if he stays on as the panel’s top Republican — will involve playing more defense in a lot of high-profile oversight hearings and legislation aimed at holding President Donald Trump's administration accountable, Huder said.

Clout for Garbarino

Hoagland argued that Garbarino will still carry notable clout, though. Particularly, he said, as a key conduit between Congress to the Department of Homeland Security and the president himself for making deals with Democrats. He also sits on the House Financial Services Committee.

Garbarino on Wednesday declined to specifically discuss his future on the committees. In a statement, he said: "I have a strong record of working across the aisle and look forward to continuing to work with both Republican and Democrat colleagues to deliver results for our communities."

In an interview with Newsday a day before the election, Jeffries was already identifying Suozzi as a key moderate who will be relied upon to bridge factions among House Democrats and also reach across the political aisle, to help accomplish legislative and other goals. Jeffries also singled out Gillen as someone who’s also shown an ability to do that.

More formally, Suozzi will ascend to the majority of the tax-code-writing Ways and Means Committee, a center of Congress’ fiscal and social policy efforts. He also will move up in seniority on the panel because of party retirements or election defeats. He also is a member of the select committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

In an interview, Suozzi offered that he personally regards his "clout" in Congress as being as more tied to being viewed as someone able to bring disparate lawmakers together on issues, though he does regard his committee positions as influential.

Gillen, a freshman in this Congress, similarly could see her influence boosted on transportation issues vital to Long Island if she keeps her seat on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She also sits on the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Asked to comment about her role in the majority, Gillen similarly provided a statement that she work "with anyone, from either party, who is ready to put politics aside for the good of the country."

LaLota has played up his having a majority seat on the coveted House Appropriations Committee — and the millions of dollars in local funding and other projects he’s helped steer homeward.

In a statement Wednesday, LaLota described his time in Congress as defined by work with both parties on issues. He added, "The House Appropriations Committee has a strong tradition of bipartisan cooperation and I'll continue working with anyone willing to put Long Island and America first."

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Hoagland said, "My perception from afar [is] that the Long Island Republicans are not as partisan as the MAGA base." And he predicted they might actually choose to work with fellow New Yorker Jeffries on mutual priorities.