It is going to show a bold conservative agenda. It would create a mandate to do those things.
It will be more difficult for Republicans to govern next year than it is to draft a policy wish list. They will need cooperation from their own, including conservatives who may be difficult to keep in line.
With little appetite for two years of obstruction, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his team will need to make sure their right flank stays in array. It also means working with President Joe Biden, not just on the agenda Republicans are preparing for themselves, but on the bare minimum of fulfilling Congress' annual chores, like funding the government or approving Pentagon policy bills.
We are going to pass legislation out of the House and send it to the president. The chair of the House GOP Conference said that they hope that Biden will work with them.
There will be a unified Republican Party with a laser focus on issues that matter to every American.
Republicans haven't yet decided how a possible majority would work with Biden. Privately, many acknowledge it will depend on how many seats they control in the House, as well as in the Senate, where senior GOP leaders are publicly squabbling over whether to release their own policy checklist.
They need to anticipate input from Donald Trump as he tries to exert his influence over the party.
Some members of the House Freedom Caucus will not support anything on the floor that could be seen as compromising with Democrats or boosting Biden ahead of the presidential election in two years. A pack of vocal freshmen members have never served in the majority.
That could be a big problem for GOP leaders when it comes to performing more mundane legislative duties, like avoiding the chaos of government shutdowns or the threat of debt defaults.
Several GOP lawmakers who addressed those discussions on condition of anonymity said that some work had begun to prepare the Republicans for the heavy lifting of the majority. McCarthy and senior Republicans have told newer members that they can tackle their agenda if they vote for a government spending deal.
It doesn't mean that every Republican will vote for everything we want to do.
In order to get the agenda we need to do some things. We have to do some things that we don't like.
The focus of the retreat was to figure out which policy areas, including energy prices, health care, China, border security and reining in big tech companies, have enough agreement within the conference to turn into bill text.
The chair of the Republican Study Committee said that McCarthy was looking for ways to come together as a conference to build consensus.
He noted that McCarthy has pulled together frequent meetings with members from every corner of the conference, from the Freedom Caucus to the Main Street Moderates, as it looks ahead to next year.
Republicans who recall the agita of divided government during former President Barack Obama's second term say they're keen to avoid the kind of scorched-earth tactics that backfired on their party half a decade ago.
Gingrich was brought in to speak to the conference by GOP leaders. According to multiple, Gingrich's message was less about the tools of obstruction and more about the positive power of their agenda.
The pep talk to lawmakers this week is part of the House GOP's carefully choreographed retreat in the Florida seaside resort town this week, with McCarthy and his leadership team working to present a united policy front going into November.
McCarthy and his team have named their agenda the "Commitment to America" in a nod to the conservative leader's "Contract with America".
Gingrich told lawmakers in a closed-door session that they should focus on three messages: make sure the government is working for the people, be happy warriors and optimistic about the future.
The chorus from a traditional GOP hymnal suggests that the party's heated internal divisions have dramatically cooled since last year's Florida retreat. Training political hits on Biden's party has gotten easier because of Democrats' recent drama, including a failed coronaviruses aid package that has their members and the White House trading blame.
If control of the House flips, many senior Republicans know they will face the same pressures of governing.
Gary Palmer offered a lesson from the Chinese classic "As water shapes its course" when asked about how GOP leaders should deal with their most obstructionist members.
There will always be people who disagree. You try to get them to a place where you can agree. Palmer said that when you can, you have to move on.
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