New Congress. Who's this? A look at the local delegation and their roles
A new Congress has convened. Republicans now control the House. And Cincinnati has sent two new members to Washington, D.C., Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican from East Walnut Hills, and Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democrat from Mount Washington.
With a Republican House majority, some local members of Congress could have more influence in Congress.
Here's a look at the eight members who represent the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region and the roles they may play.
Find out who your representative is by going to house.gov and clicking on the 'find your representative' in the upper right.
Senate
Sen. J.D. Vance
Age: 38
Party: Republican
Residence: East Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati
Served since: Jan. 3, 2023
District: Ohio statewide
Notable memberships and roles: Vance will serve on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Special Committee on Aging.
In the Senate, Vance and the Republicans will be in the minority. He replaces Rob Portman, a Terrace Park Republican known for working across party lines on infrastructure and other issues in the Senate. Vance differs from his predecessor. The Hillbilly Elegy author and venture capitalist embraced former President Donald Trump en route to his victory in the 2022 election. Portman had a more ambivalent response to Trump. Vance has also criticized U.S. involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia. His first move after taking the oath was to request an accounting of how much the U.S. has spent on aid for Ukraine. Portman, chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, pushed for more support of Ukraine.
Website and contact: www.vance.senate.gov and 202-224-3353
Sen. Sherrod Brown
Age: 70
Party: Democrat
Residence: Cleveland
Served since: Jan. 3, 2007.
District: Ohio statewide
Notable positions and roles: Brown, Ohio's senior senator, plays a prominent role in the fiscal policy of the country as the chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He's recently called for more regulation on cryptocurrencies.
Brown has been a staunch defender of unions and carries a 99% rating from the AFL-CIO. He's pushed for a hike in the minimum wage and opposed free-trade deals like NAFTA.
Brown has found a way to stay in office as a Democrat in Ohio despite Republicans holding all the other non-judicial statewide offices. He briefly considered running for president in 2020.
Website and contact: www.brown.senate.gov and 202-224-2315
Sen. Rand Paul
Age: 60
Party: Republican
Residence: Bowling Green, Ky.
Served since: Jan. 3, 2011
District: Kentucky statewide
Notable positions and roles: Paul, an eye surgeon by trade, has led the opposition to vaccine and mask mandates as well as criticism of the nation's leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, during the pandemic. Paul will also be the top-ranking Republican on a key committee that has oversight on federal agencies and border security, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Portman served as the previous ranking Republican on that committee. In that capacity, Portman oversaw hearings on the security issues raised by the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Website and contact: www.paul.senate.gov and 202-224-4343
Sen. Mitch McConnell
Age: 80
Party: Republican
Residence: Louisville
Served since: Jan. 3, 1985
District: Kentucky statewide
Notable positions and roles: McConnell this year became the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, having led the Senate Republicans for 16 years. When he served as Senate majority leader, McConnell is often credited with reshaping the federal judiciary in favor of Republicans through the confirmation of numerous Republican federal judges, including to the Supreme Court.
With Democrats in control of the Senate, he's currently the Senate minority leader. McConnell won't wield the power he did as majority leader to decide what the Senate votes on. But he's still the Senate's top Republican. McConnell and other Republicans can block some legislation, such as leading filibusters, since the Democrats do not have a 60-vote supermajority.
Website and contact: www.mcconnell.senate.gov and 202-224-2541
House of Representatives
Rep. Warren Davidson
Age: 52
Party: Republican
Residence: Troy, Ohio
Served since: June 9, 2016
District: Ohio's 8th Congressional District. Covers the western half of Hamilton County outside the Cincinnati city limits, all of Butler, Preble and Darke counties, and a portion of Miami County.
Notable positions and roles: Thanks to redrawn district lines, Davidson now represents 200,000 registered voters in the western suburbs of Hamilton County, including Green Township, Harrison and Colerain.
Davidson will have more of a say on foreign policy and national security issues, including the country's relationship with China, as a new member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Davidson's star in the Republican Party rose in the past few years alongside Trump's. He's a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of tea party-aligned conservatives that have criticized the Republican establishment.
Website and contact: www.davidson.house.gov and 202-225-6205
Rep. Greg Landsman
Age: 46
Party: Democrat
Residence: Mount Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati
Served since: Jan. 3, 2023
District: Ohio's 1st Congressional District. Covers all of the city of Cincinnati and eastern Hamilton County, all of Warren County.
Notable positions and roles: Landsman will be a freshman member of the House in the minority party. He's been appointed to two House committees, one in charge of veterans' affairs, the other on small business.
Website and contact: www.landsman.house.gov and 202-225-2216
Rep. Brad Wenstrup
Age: 64
Party: Republican
Residence: Hillsboro, Ohio
Served since: Jan. 3, 2013
District: Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. Includes 16 southern Ohio counties stretching from Clermont County in the west to Meigs County in the east. Wenstrup, due to redistricting, no longer represents portions of Hamilton County and Cincinnati.
Notable positions and roles: Wenstrup sits on the influential Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation, social security and revenue collection for the federal government. Wenstrup, a podiatrist, will serve on the Health and the Work and Welfare subcommittees. He will also chair a subcommittee that will review the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Website and contact: www.wenstrup.house.gov and 202-225-3164
Rep. Thomas Massie
Age: 52
Party: Republican
Residence: Garrison, Ky.
Served since: Nov. 13, 2012
District: Kentucky's 4th Congressional District
Notable positions and roles: Massie has ruffled feathers in Congress with his votes against all kinds of legislation, earning the moniker "Mr. No." He will sit on a subcommittee that will carry out what the Washington Post described as potentially the most contentious investigation in Congress. This committee would look at a perceived bias in federal agencies, such as the FBI, against conservatives. It also appears Massie's influence could be growing. He's landed a seat on the House Rules Committee, a powerful committee with influence over how legislation is introduced and moved through the House.
Website and contact: www.massie.house.gov and 202-225-3465
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who are the members of Congress representing the Cincinnati region?
