Congressman-elect Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge says Congress hasn’t changed all that much since he last served there almost three decades ago.
Security used to be easier to navigate, he says. And they don’t use beepers anymore to notify you when it’s time to vote. Life as an elected official on the Hill was different in the 1990s.
One more thing. Fields says the three-day orientation he endured upon first being federally elected now takes two weeks. Technically, he isn’t a freshman, so Fields attended what he could, but left some of the process this go-around to “a group of people that I’m leaning on.”
As far as staffers who will work the Beltway and the Baton Rouge-based district, Fields said just before Thanksgiving that he was still in the process of building his team. Ultimately, he plans to have three full-time offices and two satellite offices.
“People in the 6th District will have an office that they can go to and a person they can talk to about their issues in Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Fields did land “spacious” digs in the Rayburn House Office Building, his first choice, but the outlook for committee assignments is a guessing game for this Democrat entering into a GOP chamber.
Like many members, Fields would love to sit on Appropriations, though he realizes that’s a big ask. His second preference, as a representative of an energy state, is Energy and Commerce. If all else fails, Fields could return to Financial Services, which is where he started in Washington.
When asked about policy priorities, Fields signaled an interest in tackling intra-chamber communications. He wants to establish a bipartisan, bicameral education caucus. Through that endeavor, Fields hopes to boost support for early childhood education.
When he does become a member of Congress, Fields will double Louisiana’s representation in the Congressional Black Caucus, for which New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter serves as second vice chair. Fields says he is looking forward to working with Carter, his only Democratic colleague in an otherwise all-Republican delegation.
Carter sounds like he welcomes the company as well. Reflecting on their shared time in the Louisiana Legislature, Carter notes that they served together in a Republican-controlled state Senate under a Democratic governor.
“We had our work cut out for us then, and we have our work cut out for us now,” Carter said in an interview. “Fortunately, many, if not most, of the issues that we will deal with in Congress, particularly as it relates to Louisiana, should be deemed bipartisan.”
Carter added, “I think that Louisiana is going to be served very well by a Troy Carter and Cleo Fields team working together.”
When it comes to bipartisan priorities, the delegation’s overall clout certainly won’t hurt, said Fields, who has proven himself as a dependable ally to Republicans like Gov. Jeff Landry.
“I just think that’s the way you get things done by working with both parties to solve important issues for the people of Louisiana.”
When interviewed before the holiday, Fields was planning to give Senate President Cameron Henry his official resignation letter, so that the process of identifying his replacement in the upper chamber can begin.
Asked about his potential involvement in that race, Fields said he has someone in mind but doesn’t want to say who it is yet. On the election front, he said his immediate focus is on helping East Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome get reelected this weekend.
Fields, of course, got his new job due to redistricting changes that added a new majority Black congressional district to Louisiana. Should the courts decide to make changes to that revised map, Fields said he would not run for the Legislature again.
“I can guarantee you one thing: I will not be coming back,” Fields said in the last line of his farewell speech to the Senate last month.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter). He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
