Regan Delaney: Executive director, Republican Governance Group

A common theme throughout the 119th Congress has been moderate Republicans representing swing districts forced to grapple with tough votes to advance President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Regan Delaney, the executive director of the Republican Governance Group, has been at the center of that dynamic.

As a top staffer for the Republican Governance Group — a faction of centrists from purple districts, previously known as the Tuesday Group and commonly referred to as RG2 — Delaney helps facilitate conversations between centrist members to best prepare them for high-stakes votes.

Delaney said that includes creating private spaces for lawmakers to discuss legislation and scheduling weekly meetings for legislative directors that serve as a starting point for working with leadership to craft bills palatable to members.

“I always try and focus RG2’s efforts on member education and providing open spaces that are confidential and behind closed doors for members to have candid conversations and kind of get a feel for where other members stand on key votes that they’re concerned about,” Delaney told The Hill in an interview.

“We also host a weekly LD meeting where we talk about all of the upcoming votes, get a feel for how many members have concerns, work with leadership on things coming down the pipeline,” she added.

Delaney, who has worked on Capitol Hill since 2017, said: “Our job is to arm them with the information and to provide the coalitions, but we want them to lead and publicly share how it best fits their districts.”

Those efforts, Delaney argued, have been fruitful, with the conference “changing the legislation to what our members and what their voters and constituents want to see.”

Creating a path for vulnerable Republicans has been at the heart of Delaney’s Capitol Hill career. She saw the dynamic up close while working for former Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), who represented a battleground district in the Hudson Valley; helped protect those members as a staffer for the National Republican Congressional Committee; and has worked to help them succeed at the Republican Governance Group.

“That is kind of, since Day 1, been my No. 1 goal: Is to help other members and other staffers understand the priorities of these members that are in the middle in these tough purple districts,” she said.