I keep forgetting this so I’m writing it down. Congress has had more than one “Gang of Eight” over the years.
There was a Gang of Eight in 2012 to deal with the “fiscal cliff”:
- Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Finance Committee member
- Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Budget Committee Chairman
- Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Finance Committee member
- Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Majority Whip
- Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA)
There was a Gang of Eight who drafted a border security and immigration act in 2013:
- Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
- Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arguably, the most important Gang of Eight, however, comprises the Congressional leadership, the leadership of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
- Senate Majority Leader
- Senate Minority Leader
- Speaker of the House
- Minority Leader of the House
- Chair of SSCI
- Vice Chair or Ranking Minority Member of SSCI
- Chair of HPSCI
- Vice Chair or Ranking Minority Member of HPSCI
Currently, that means the Gang of Eight looks like this:
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Majority Leader
- Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader
- Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Speaker of the House
- Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23), Minority Leader
- Richard Burr (R-NC), Chair of SSCI
- Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair of SSCI
- Adam Schiff (D-CA-28), Chair of HPSCI
- Devin Nunes (R-CA-22), Ranking Member of HPSCI