WASHINGTON – When Dr. Michael Burgess ran for a Denton-based Congressional seat in 2002, a question was asked in a Republican forum: What committee would the obstetrician-turned-politician serve on if he won? Was that what you were hoping for?
A completely innocuous question tripped up a political novice.
“I’m going to say, ‘Oh my god, there’s a committee in Congress?'” Burgess says with a laugh, giving the lame answer that the committee’s wishes don’t matter because he’ll be spending hours on it. said.
Burgess, a first-time candidate, was focused on Denton County Judge Scott Armey, a strong opponent in the Republican primary.
The son of House Majority Leader Dick Armey was seeking to succeed his father and had a list of supporters from the big powers. After finishing a distant second in a crowded primary, Burgess was considered a strong favorite to win the runoff.
The main line of attack of Burgess and his allies was that parliamentary seats were not inherited.
Burgess won decisively in the runoff, shocking Texas and himself. He won the general election and was re-elected 10 times before deciding to retire last year.
On Capitol Hill, Burgess won a seat on the influential Rules Committee, which sets the House’s agenda and controls the flow of legislation.
He said he is familiar with the functioning of the House and has established himself as the Republican Party’s leading expert on health policy and has offered to potentially share that expertise with the incoming Trump administration.
When Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) resigned as Appropriations Committee chair earlier this year, it caused a domino effect, putting Mr. Burgess in charge of the Rules Committee and ending his career in Congress.
Burgess, 73, was followed by 30-year-old Brandon Gill, who won a closely contested primary with 58% of the vote, beating out 10 other candidates, including Scott Armey.
Gill founded the conservative news site DC Enquirer and worked with his father-in-law, Dinesh D’Souza, on the film “2000 Mules,” which featured widespread allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. It has faced significant criticism over its methodology. Those suspicions.
Ms. Burgess, who lives in Aubrey, noted that Mr. Gill accomplished what he could not: avoid a runoff in a crowded primary. Burgess said that when Texans bring up young people in the next House of Representatives, he encourages them to give the newcomer a chance.
“Twenty-two years ago, you gave me a chance, and for the most part it worked out,” he said.
dig the hill
Mr. Burgess said that representing a safe Republican district means not being appointed to handle important legislation or being handed plum souvenirs usually given to those on the battlefield. He said he learned early on.
If he wants to do more than increase campaign contributions, he will have to forge his own path.
“I didn’t give up my 25-year career as a doctor, leave my family and come here just to be a pretty face and raise money,” Burgess said. “I wanted to get things done.”
He learned the inner workings of Congress and deftly navigated the rise of the Tea Party and the influence of Donald Trump’s populism.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said his long track record on the Rules Committee shows how much top Republicans have come to trust him.
“He simply put his head down and ingratiated himself with the establishment within the Republican Party who had long treated him as a trusted representative of the leadership,” Jillson said. “I consider him an effective institutionalist.”
Mr. Burgess, who laughingly described himself as a “professional backbencher,” delved into the minutiae of health policy and focused on projects important to the district.
He recalled a Dallas Morning News headline about the Louisville Dam just before Christmas in 2015: “Dam Calls Trouble.”
This article explores the problems surrounding the dam and how its failure would devastate the Dallas area, putting 431,000 people at risk and potentially leaving downtown Dallas under 50 feet of water. I have outlined what there is.
Burgess said he helped focus the Army Corps of Engineers’ attention on the dam and encouraged funding to address the situation.
“People say, we know you’re leaving, but what is your legacy? Did you build a new bridge? Or did you find a new lake to be named after you?” Burgess said. “No, I didn’t give you a new lake. But I kept you from losing your old lake. I think that’s important.”
He cited other projects addressing local flooding issues and pushing for new veterans health facilities in Fort Worth and Denton. These accomplishments may not make headlines, but they were important priorities for the district.
medical expertise
As one of the few doctors in the House, Burgess quickly became the Republican Party’s go-to expert on health policy.
He wrote a book that harshly criticized the Affordable Care Act and cut into the weeds of conservative medical solutions. After serving as Sen. John McCain’s top health policy adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. Burgess watched the Republican repeal-and-replace effort by Arizona Republicans derail with a thumbs down. I was so frustrated.
Burgess’s major initiatives included abolishing the physician fee system, which had been a perennial thorn in Congress’s side. Lawmakers have had to regularly engage in “physician fixes” to protect doctors from the financial hit of making it harder for Medicare patients to find a provider.
Most recently, Mr Burgess passed legislation in the House of Commons that would allow savings from longer-term health measures to be taken into account in the formal budgeting process.
He said the bill, which is still being considered in the Senate, could help Trump elect Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services on a platform to “make America healthy again.” He said that there is a sex.
Advice and future plans
Burgess said former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) once gave him “holy hell” for voting against a spending bill.
Today, it’s a different world, with newly arrived Republicans challenging party leaders on procedural motions and spending bills.
Mr Burgess said he had received wise advice over the years that delegates should vote based on their conscience and the interests of their constituencies, but that they should back up leadership on speaker votes and procedural issues. said.
And since politicians have long memories, they should be careful not to surprise colleagues who disagree.
“I hope you don’t undermine the next president’s policy power, because you have a special ax to sharpen,” Burgess said.
What’s next for him?
“I thought it would be selfish to waste the encyclopedic knowledge of health policy from the past 22 years that I carry with me every day,” Burgess said.
“So, if the incoming administration is clearly interested, I submitted my resume and I will be happy to help in any way I can,” he said.
