Does it take two to make the dream come true?

Pennsylvania could find itself with two of its congressional members at the top of the food chain on the House Budget Committee.

As the first panel to examine the President’s annual budget message, the Budget Committee’s chief responsibility is to draft a concurrent resolution that reconciles spending details with the overall comprehensive budget package.

While Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-02) currently is the ranking member of the committee, a battle is brewing over who will be the next top Republican and in the mix is Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-11).

Smucker and Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah) are both jockeying to replace Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) after the latter’s decision to retire.

This is not the first time that the Lancaster Countian has put his hat in the ring for the position. In 2022, Smucker ran for the post but Arrington won on a second secret ballot by leadership in the House Republican Steering Committee.

According to a report in Punchbowl News, Smucker has been having conversations with members of the House Republican Steering Committee – the panel that decides committee leadership races – and met with House GOP leaders about his bid. Included in that group are a pair of Pennsylvania congressmen – Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-14), Chief Deputy Whip, and Mike Kelly (R-16), Chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax.

Smucker and Kelly recently penned a letter to Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Armstrong/Jefferson/Indiana/Westmoreland) calling on Pennsylvania state lawmakers to use this year’s state budget process to align Pennsylvania’s state tax code with pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-investment policies included in the Working Families Tax Cuts last year.

A source familiar with his operation says Smucker has locked up the majority needed to win the race.

“I am deeply grateful for the strong support and encouragement I am receiving in my conversations with Members of the House Republican Steering Committee,” Smucker told PoliticsPA.

Smucker is the more senior of the two candidates and presently serves as the panel’s vice chair. Moore is the House GOP Conference vice chair and also sits on Steering which is traditionally an advantage in the race for the gavel.

Fundraising for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also plays a key role in contending for a top committee position. Smucker is a top-10 fundraiser, bringing in a haul of more than $2.2 million for the NRCC this cycle, as opposed to around $1 million for Moore.

But another factor working against Smucker is that since the formal mechanism for Budget Committee began in 1973, no state has had both ranking members.

“Our nation’s debt is one of the greatest challenges facing our country,” said Smucker. “Just paying the interest on our national debt, now nearly $1 trillion a year, limits our ability to invest in priorities, respond to emergencies, and leave America stronger for future generations. We must address that challenge, and that is why I am seeking the opportunity to lead the House Budget Committee. My efforts in Congress have always sought to bring Members together to advance serious, fiscally responsible legislation. We made historic progress last year during reconciliation, producing over $1 trillion in savings, but there is much more work to do to change America’s fiscal trajectory.”

Pennsylvania has not had a chair of the House Budget Committee since the 100th Congress (1987-89) when William H. Gray III held the post.