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UPDATED: April 18, 2022 at 6:13 p.m.

Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, attended a conversation with Gretchen Ritter, Syracuse’s vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs on Thursday afternoon.

Katko has been representing New York’s 24th Congressional District since 2015, after succeeding Dan Maffei, a Democrat. He was reelected three times, defeating Democratic challengers Colleen Deacon in 2016 and Dana Balter in 2018 and 2020, though the district favored the Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the past two presidential elections.

In the conversation, titled “Healing the House Divided,” Katko discussed topics such as bipartisanship in Congress, the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, economic development in central New York and the reasons he will not be seeking reelection in 2022.

Four-time elected @RepJohnKatko, R-Camillus, joining @SyracuseU Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer @rittergaus for a conversation titled “Healing the House Divided” held by @MaxwellSU. Katko has been representing New York’s 24 Congressional District since 2015. pic.twitter.com/R63AKCIwF0

— Francis B. Tang (@francis_towne) April 14, 2022

Katko emphasized the significance of understanding different points of view and working with people across the aisle. He said he is proud to be an advocate for moderation in Congress, and he was adamant about certain things when he was first elected to Congress in 2014.

“Number one is I was never going to introduce a bill without a Democratic original co-sponsor,” Katko said. “Number two is I was trying to look at the other side and understand that I’m not always right.”

In a bipartisan index produced by The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, Katko was ranked as the second-most bipartisan member of the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress. The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a collaboration between Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked Katko as the third-most effective House Republican in 2021.

Throughout the conversation, Katko repeatedly highlighted the importance of voting according to one’s conscience instead of saving one’s job.

“Being a moderate means you have to understand one fundamental thing — if the left is pissed off at you and the right is pissed off at you, you are doing a good job,” Katko said. “Based on that, I’m doing a pretty damn good job.”

Photo by Francis Tang | Asst. News Editor; Photo Illustration by Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

Kakto drew the importance of dynamic leadership that can appeal to and work with the other side. He mentioned former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as examples from both parties whom he said have managed to achieve that goal.

“We don’t have that anymore, and both sides are guilty of it,” Katko said. “The Democratic Party now is not what it was a few years ago, and the Republican Party now is not what it was a few years ago. I’ve often said I think the Republican Party has become more of a party of personality than principles. And we got to get back to the party of principles.”

As one of the 13 House Republicans who voted in favor of President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, Katko said during the conversation that pushing for the passage of the bill in a bipartisan manner is among the accomplishments of which he’s most proud.

“We got it done in a bipartisan manner. That’s incredibly important going forward,” Katko said. “I’m very proud of that because I know going forward, what that’s going to do for the physical infrastructure of our country is (going to) be profound.”

He said, however, that the bill faced partisan pressure for reasons beyond him.

“When I cast that vote, many of my party tried to remove me as the head of the homeland security committee as punishment — for infrastructure. That’s bridges, water systems, things we are supposed to be doing,” Katko said. “That’s a fundamental job task of the government, and that’s an example of how bad it’s got.”

Katko was also the first House Republican who publicly supported the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Reflecting on Jan. 6, 2021, when he witnessed the “deeply troubling” situation unfolding in front of him, Katko said it was the saddest day of his career in public service.

“I looked at the evidence, I looked at the charge and I voted accordingly. And I don’t regret it for a second,” Katko said. “It’s a very painful thing to do, a very sad thing to do and something I wish I never had to do. But I did what I thought was right.”

The Republican congressman announced in January that he would not seek reelection this year. During the conversation, Katko explained the reasons behind the decision.

“I’m a firm believer in the term limits. And I said I’ll never go more than 12 years,” Katko said.

He also said that both he and his wife lost each of their two parents in the last four years, which gave him “some perspective” when it comes to life decisions.

“I’m 59 years old, and you say how many good years do I have left? And then I looked over at the far left in Congress … and I said, ‘Do I want to spend them with these guys?’ And I said ‘no,’” Katko said with a chuckle.

When asked about his message to his potential successors, Katko said he would be happy if what he’s done could set an example for his successors to follow in terms of “dealing with the other side.”

Looking at the future, Katko said while he hasn’t decided what he will be doing after Congress, he wants to stay in the public service and homeland security realms.

“Maybe I’ll guest lecture here once in a while,” Katko said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post said The Lugar Center of Georgetown University ranked Katko the second-most bipartisan member of the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress. While the ranking was jointly produced by The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, The Lugar Center is an independent entity with no affiliation with Georgetown University. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on April 17, 2022 at 9:54 pm

Contact Francis: btang05@syr.edu | @francis_towne