The House Energy and Commerce Committee burned the midnight oil — literally.
The plum panel — which has jurisdiction over one of the largest parts of the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” — held an around-the-clock markup this week, kicking off the action at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and continuing through the night before finally wrapping up at roughly 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The 26.5 hour confab was not the panel’s longest. That distinction belongs to a 2017 markup of the Republicans’ bill to repeal ObamaCare under the first Trump administration, which ran for 27 hours. But the marathon markup had all the trappings of the previous endurance contest, featuring waves of emergency takeout, loads of caffeine and plenty of grumpy lawmakers who sought unique ways to make it through the gauntlet with their wits intact.
For Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), that meant leaning heavily on fruit, caffeine and nicotine.
“I’ve had four Celsius,” Hudson said. “I’m on my third can of Zyn.”
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), who is six-and-a-half months pregnant, had to work double-duty, shuffling from the Energy and Commerce Committee’s markup in the Longworth building to the Agriculture Committee’s debate in the Rayburn building. How did she keep up? Compression socks — “my fellow mamas-to-be and mamas know exactly what I mean” — an “unhealthy” amount of sparkling water, and a single cup of coffee.
She’s eyeing her next java.
“Since Ag will be going on after E&C, I may allow myself a second cup of coffee,” Cammack told The Hill in a text message. “And I just keep staring longingly at my colleagues with Celsius in their hands. But of course, Celsius is no-no for me and baby Peanut.”
Cammack said Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) brought turntables to the ante room — a side area for members — to DJ “so there was some music keeping people going.”
Crenshaw, for his part, said of Celsius: “I believe those are not strong enough.”
And Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), who was an emergency physician before coming to Congress, said that experience — including a particularly rough stretch during a surgery internship, when his shift would begin at 5 a.m. on Friday and end at 5 p.m. on Monday — prepared him well for this week’s grueling markup.
“I’m used to long shifts, brother. I’ve spent a lot of hours and nights awake,” he said.
“The energy and the intensity was so high that our natural adrenaline just kept us awake,” he added. “But it doesn’t mean that we’re not exhausted and tired. That was a long time ago, and I’m much older now.”
If some folks tried their hardest to stay awake, others threw in the towel, sneaking in — albeit not surreptitiously — a quick nap to recharge the batteries. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) was caught on camera leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed, a clip that went viral online.
“Been up for 31 hours straight fighting Republicans trying to gut Medicaid,” she wrote in response to the video. “Closed my eyes to think about an America where everyone has access to quality, affordable health care.”
She wasn’t thrilled with the social media stardom after-the-fact.
“I’m very grumpy,” she told reporters. “F— ’em all.”
The marathon meeting came and went as House Republican leaders are looking to get the Trump agenda bill through the chamber by Memorial Day, an ambitious timeline that some lawmakers are doubtful of. Top lawmakers, however, are plowing full-steam ahead.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s portion of the Trump agenda bill has been among the most contentious. The panel, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, was directed to find at least $880 billion in cuts, which it surpassed, largely through health provisions: The proposal would reduce federal spending by roughly $912 billion over the next decade, with $715 billion of that coming through health-related measures, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The centerpiece of the legislation is beefed up work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. The bill’s components, however, are now the source of controversy within the conference, with deficit hawks complaining that the provisions do not go far enough, and moderates withholding judgment while emphasizing their red lines.
Heading into the markup, Democrats on the committee gathered last week for an hour-long strategy session. It was there that the Democrats discussed the broad contours of how they wanted to approach the high-stakes forum — including their focus on the Medicaid cuts that have sparked a backlash from even some GOP lawmakers.
“The committee staff did a good job of helping us coordinate with each other,” Ruiz said. “They were the conductors in this orchestra.”
But the smaller details of the dialogue were left to lawmakers to decide themselves, according to Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas).
“I think we just kind-of ad-libbed it,” Veasey said. “As far as the actual debate was concerned, there was no plan.”
Keeping exhausted lawmakers sated was a crucial component of the two-day gathering.
On the Democratic side, there was Cava, Chinese, piles of bagels and a vast array of juice options. For the Republicans, it was Greek, pizza and strawberry toaster strudel — a favorite of Cammack’s. But both parties stressed that chemical stimulants were no small part of the process.
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), the panel’s chairman, said he was staying awake with “good coffee.” And Ruiz suggested the show couldn’t have gone on without it.
“There was Celcius, indeed,” he said. “But I think coffee was important.”
