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Drew Brees knows about adversity, and he brought a lifetime of lessons to the House Republicans' Orlando retreat.
The NFL superstar joined House Republicans in swapping his suits for resortwear at last week's retreat, where Republicans gameplanned the next two years.
Teamwork was stressed throughout the retreat, which concluded with Brees giving Republicans a pep talk about teamwork and overcoming adversity. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), himself a Super Bowl winner, introduced Brees and told me Brees's remarks were fantastic, even though he himself doesn't watch the NFL any more.
Brees' star power was undeniable. While Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) was in the middle of praising Brees's "phenomenal" talk to me, raving about how Brees overcoming adversity "back to when he played in San Diego and hurt his shoulder and he ended up going to rehab, then going to New Orleans six months after [Hurricane Katrina], is a testimony to people that get knocked down and get back up and keep going," Brees himself walked past.
Ezell, starstruck, happily posed for a picture with the southern icon. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) even tried unsuccessfully to recruit Brees to come out of retirement to join his Detroit Lions.
House Republicans see themselves as playing differing positions in helping achieve their Super Bowl, which is an expanded majority. Almost all likened Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to their head coach or quarterback, and they see themselves as everything from offensive linemen—in Ezell's case—to middle linebackers—in Huizenga's case—to waterboys who just want to help the team win—in freshman Rep. Mark Alford's (R-Mo.) case.
The House GOP caucus doubtless found Brees's career relatable. From high school to college to the NFL, Brees's doubters bet against him time and again. After the quarterback's stint with the San Diego Chargers, Nick Saban wanted him on the Miami Dolphins. However, Miami's "doctor didn't know his ass from a handful of sand," in Saban's words, and failed Brees' physical.
Humbled by the Red Wave-turned-Red Trickle in 2022, Republicans similarly started off in turmoil, including days of massive infighting that simply prolonged the inevitable: the House speakership for McCarthy.
It took the Republicans a few weeks to land on their feet, but they have since scored impressive victories. Their most prominent so far came when House Democrats sided with the radical D.C. City Council in trying to turn our nation's capital city into "The Purge" by reducing criminal sentences. House Democrats voted in line with hardened criminals, but President Joe Biden blinked and joined Republicans in overturning a D.C. Council-passed law.
While down south, Republicans sketched out their offensive game plan. Here they were able to look to their conference's star guest for inspiration. Throughout his career, Brees was dogged for lacking arm strength. So he relied on a "spread offense," passing quickly to a wide variety of players—and that's how McCarthy seems to quarterback. Everyone from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who authored the bill to save D.C. from itself, to Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who authored the Parents Bill of Rights, have scored wins, and McCarthy was praised by members for spreading his offense.
As they look to cement future wins, Republicans are making energy independence their agenda's primary goal, rolling out a signature piece of legislation, HR1 (along with a seven-figure ad campaign). Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) told me that energy independence is something Republicans have worked on for years, and that Biden's "war on American energy" made them prioritize it.
Beyond Biden's bad policy, Scalise said, is the president's hypocrisy of railing against fossil fuels in America while flying Air Force One (which, he noted, doesn't have solar panels) and begging adversarial countries to supply us with energy that Americans can't stand. Biden is "not against fossil fuels," Scalise told me. He's just against American fossil fuels.
Additionally, the issue of border security came up time and again—and not only that of America's southern border with Mexico. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) emphasized that the northern border with Canada is also porous. Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told me he's optimistic Democrats will actually work with Republicans on common-sense issues like getting more border patrol agents.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was less optimistic. "I really wasn't surprised that Democrats boycotted" field hearings that Republicans hosted in border towns, he told me.
As Brees knows, even the best quarterbacks can't win without a strong defense, and Republicans are eager to turn setbacks around. There was excitement at the retreat about Biden's veto of bipartisan legislation that prevents pensions from investing based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, and they are eager to keep fighting.
McCarthy told me it's "sad" that Biden vetoed the bill, and criticized him for "invoking politics into how people invest their money." Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) told me that financial institutions like Silicon Valley Bank "might have been a little too interested in the E and S, and neglected the G: governance.... Obviously they had their priorities wrong. If executives and businesses take their eye off their primary business, in order to play politics, for whatever reason, it shows that there's a mismanagement issue."
Huizenga echoed this view, saying that despite Biden's veto, "we can't give up. Despite this, that doesn't mean we should throw up our hands and go 'I guess [Securities and Exchange Commission chair] Gary Gensler is just going to have it the way Gary Gensler wants it to be.'"
As the conference ended, Huizenga and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wisc.)—who both represent key swing states—told me that "we can't keep saying the same thing the same way and expect [voters] to react differently" and that Republicans can't shy away from combatting corporate welfare and pushing for border security if they want to bring home politics' Lombardi Trophy.
If Brees' career success is any indication, the Midwesterners are right that the GOP should pursue a variety of policy goals. The future hall of famer has thrown touchdowns to more than 60 players, from legends like Antonio Gates and Darren Sproles to undrafted free agents like Tommylee Lewis. There's obviously value in keeping opposing defenses on their toes and not throwing to one receiver every play.
As with any spring break, there was a lot of drinking and partying in Orlando. Whether 2024's political Super Bowl leads to a hangover or a parade (or both) is up to the players. But they can thank Brees quite a bit for helping guide them.
Matthew Foldi is a conservative journalist and former U.S. congressional candidate from Maryland. Twitter: @MatthewFoldi.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
