Mid-decade redistricting threatens more than seats: it risks erasing decades of policy expertise on Capitol Hill. Rep. Lloyd Doggett is retiring rather than face a primary, while Reps. Ken Calvert and Rob Wittman face vulnerable primaries that could remove two of Congress’s most experienced defense-policy lawmakers. Their departures would reshape Ways and Means, Appropriations and Armed Services and create significant gaps in tax, health and national-security policy expertise.
Redistricting Risks Capitol Hill’s Institutional Memory — Doggett Retires; Calvert and Wittman Face Dangerous Primaries
Across the political spectrum, mid-decade redistricting battles are threatening more than incumbents’ seats: they risk eroding decades of policy expertise on Capitol Hill. Several veteran lawmakers who have shaped taxation, health policy and defense spending now face retirement, tough primaries or displacement — outcomes that would reverberate through key committees and policymaking processes.
Why This Matters
The potential exits of long-serving members would do more than tweak party margins. They would change the ideological balance and institutional memory of powerful panels — particularly Ways and Means, Appropriations and Armed Services — creating knowledge gaps on complex technical issues from drug pricing to weapons procurement.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas): A Progressive Voice On Tax And Health Policy
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who has spent roughly 50 years in public life and three decades in the House, chose retirement rather than contest a primary against rising progressive Greg Casar. As the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and the committee’s second-most-senior Democrat, Doggett was known for pushing back on corporate influence, challenging Big Pharma and opposing tax breaks that reward offshoring.
Colleagues credit him with keeping progressive priorities — such as billionaire taxes and restrictions on stock buybacks — alive within Ways and Means. Don Beyer (D-Va.) called him “a lone voice” on issues like Medicare Advantage and price-gouging, and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) praised his willingness to stand up to party leadership on tax matters.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.): An Appropriations Stalwart On Defense Spending
California’s new maps set up a potentially bruising primary between GOP incumbents Ken Calvert and Young Kim. Calvert, a quarter-century figure on defense appropriations, is widely regarded by colleagues as an institutional expert on defense funding, weapons systems and military procurement. He won a waiver from Appropriations leadership to stay on as Defense subcommittee chair in the current Congress, a concession unlikely to be repeated in future sessions.
Calvert has championed investments in advanced military technology, launching a roughly $100 million initiative in 2022 to accelerate production and procurement of next-generation capabilities. Supporters argue his departure would leave a deep, specialized void on defense budgeting and acquisition oversight.
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.): Poised For Armed Services Leadership — But Vulnerable
First elected in 2007, Rep. Rob Wittman has served in Armed Services subcommittee leadership and chairs the Tactical Air & Land Forces panel. He is widely viewed within GOP ranks as a likely successor for the top Republican spot on the House Armed Services Committee when the current chair completes his tenure in 2026.
Democratic redistricting proposals targeting Virginia’s 1st District could make Wittman’s seat much more competitive. Wittman’s advocates emphasize his steady advocacy for Virginia’s shipbuilding industry and national-security priorities, warning that losing him could diminish regional influence on shipbuilding, base priorities and broader defense readiness discussions.
Potential Consequences
Lawmakers and staff say losing any of these figures would go beyond partisan arithmetic. It would reduce institutional continuity on complex policy areas that require long-term knowledge and relationships across the Pentagon, federal agencies and industry. Replacing that depth of expertise would take years — if it can be done at all.
Contributor: Connor O’Brien
