In summary
Kiley has yet to declare which district he’ll run in — or whether he’ll run at all — after Prop. 50 turned his current seat solidly Democratic.
California’s Rep. Kevin Kiley of Roseville was among a handful of House Republicans this week to go on the record opposing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
He also notably defied House Republican leadership by voting against a procedural motion that would have suppressed any votes on Trump’s emergency tariffs until August.
While his actions might appear chivalrous on the surface, Kiley is working overtime to appeal to independent and Democratic voters ever since his district was drastically reshaped by the pro-Democratic gerrymander that voters approved in November by passing Proposition 50.
He has not yet declared in which congressional district he will seek reelection, instead choosing to eliminate options one-by-one in a game show-esque ritual that political reporters have compared to “The Bachelor” or “Survivor.”
For more than a year, Speaker Mike Johnson has quietly used calendar gimmicks to shield his members from difficult votes that could haunt them come Election Day.
Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump used to impose some of his tariffs last year, any member of the House can challenge an emergency by introducing a resolution that must receive a vote within 15 days. Congress also is responsible for reevaluating national states of emergency every six months.
Through clever language tacked on to the end of procedural bills known as “rules,” which essentially set the parameters for debate on legislation, House GOP leaders changed the definition of a “day” to extend far beyond the traditional 24 hours, sometimes extending a single legislative day for several months.
Kiley declared Thursday that preventing Congress from reevaluating a state of emergency constituted an “abuse” of congressional procedure, saying members were being asked to “legislate a fiction” by declaring that a day is, in fact, not a day.
He said House Republican leadership’s orders to vote for the bill were “in defiance of every principle I’ve ever fought for” and that he refused to surrender his own power as a member just to appease his party leadership or the president.
“It is in the national interest for important matters of economic and national security policy to be debated by the House of Representatives,” Kiley said in a speech from the floor. “That’s what we’re here for.”
A spokesperson for Kiley did not immediately respond to a message requesting an interview.
Playing with legislative time is an age-old congressional tactic employed by both parties, yet Johnson’s efforts to freeze time have been more conspicuous, and longer lasting. Democrats decried similar GOP maneuvers last year, which Kiley notably voted for.
