BIG JIM ENERGY — Think of today’s tumult over the resignation calls now besieging Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) as a preview of further tribulations likely to confront Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s fractious House GOP. After McCarthy’s conference openly debated Santos’ future role in the wake of what looks like extensive fabrications of his personal and professional history, the speaker said his fraud-plagued freshman wouldn’t be seated on high-profile committees. But with some of McCarthy’s members pushing for Santos to get no assignments at all, the tough questions are likely to continue. Which brings us to Jim Fouts. Most people on Capitol Hill have never heard of the four-term mayor of Warren, Mich. But they should start reading up on Fouts, who’s both a cautionary tale and a north star for House Republicans as they navigate the often-harsh glare of newly acquired power. It’s tough to fit Fouts’ most eyebrow-raising moves since taking office into a single sentence, but here goes, in no order of significance: He’s been embroiled for two years running in legal battles with his own city council over alleged misuse of the budget; blamed “dirty politics” for scrutiny of the salary bump given to a young aide filmed holding hands with him; and insisted his voice was fabricated on recordings that appeared to capture him making viciously racist, misogynist remarks. Oh, and he’s moving toward a run for a fifth term despite a term-limits law passed in 2020 that would seem to prohibit that. If he does, Fouts has a real shot at winning. How has he hung on to power for so long? The mayor of Detroit’s biggest suburb is a living testament to the strange but enduring political power of being unsympathetic. He’s entered every one of the plentiful fights he’s picked with a dogged belief in the inferiority of his critics’ arguments. Those opponents don’t have to like it — and they most certainly do not, per local reporting — but Fouts refuses to give an inch. And if McCarthy’s slim majority wants to survive the next two years of internal elbow-throwing and external maneuvering around the Democratic president and Senate, they’d do well to borrow Fouts’ energy. Until McCarthy makes a firm decision on Santos, the questions will keep coming. So WWJFD (What Would Jim Fouts Do) in this case? The mayor would likely dig in to defend the most politically expedient position — which, in this case, is letting Santos stay in his swing seat for as long as McCarthy needs his vote in the chamber’s thin majority. Democrats can and will seek to pin Santos’ notoriety on McCarthy, but the Foutsian move would be to push on past any pressure, regardless of its relative substance. Indeed, Fouts treats his most serious court battles over city spending with the same stone-faced gravity as a Christmastime prank in which pictures were publicly posted with his face transposed on the Grinch’s. So no one should be surprised if McCarthy’s conference treats the Santos scandal, and the next chaotic drama that is bound to engulf it (remember former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.)?) with Foutsian commitment to the most politically beneficial position. There’s always a risk of handing attack-ad or viral-video fodder to the opposition — and looking, for lack of a better word, shameless about tough moments — but Fouts is proof that digging in works, more often than not. McCarthy himself arguably personified a similar sort of tenacity by refusing to back down during the 15 tense ballots of last week’s speaker election. Be prepared to watch the House GOP, from the speaker to Santos on down, grind their heels in even further for the rest of this Congress. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at eschor@politico.com or on Twitter at @eschor.
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