Despite the ongoing tumult surrounding the Trump White House and polls continually showing Democrats in strong shape for the November elections, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee confidently predicts his party will retain control of the U.S. House.
"We have peace and prosperity, and our recruiting has gone well," Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, told a press breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington, D.C., Friday.
Stivers specifically singled out NRCC Vice-Chairman Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. with helping to recruit 120 candidates, many of them women.
As for the new Bob Woodward book alleging upheaval and dissension within the Trump administration, Stivers remarked "I'm from Columbus and people aren't talking about the book or what's on the talk shows. They're talking about the economy and how their prospects are brighter."
Of the Woodward book and the anonymous New York Times opinion piece attributed to a senior administration official, the Buckeye State lawmaker said one hears about it "on cable news shows, but not in barberships and not at the dinner table."
Stivers said Democrats' talk about impeachment of Trump is a "motivator" for Republican voters, the same as Democrats' promises to repeal the tax cuts implemented by Trump and the Republican Congress.
"I see this election cycle as 1998 all over again," he said. "There was a good economy, and approval ratings for the president were good. The [opposition] party was talking impeachment and a radical agenda — in this case, the party being the Republicans.
"And you know what happened? Bill Clinton and the Democrats gained five seats in the House. They defied history!"
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.