ENERGY/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Greg Walden is trying to find his own way in Donald Trump’s party. Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and former chief of the House GOP campaign arm, has broken ranks with Trump on a number of high-profile votes this year — rebuking the president on his signature border wall, backing Russia sanctions and voting with Democrats to end the historic 35-day government shutdown. Facing a changing state back home and a new era of divided government in Washington, the Oregon Republican has been joining with a handful of his more moderate GOP colleagues to quietly cross the aisle and vote with the Democratic majority. But Walden isn’t ostentatious about his splits with the president, and in the Trump era, he can’t go rogue too much if he wants a future in the GOP. The 62-year-old congressman has his sights on reclaiming the Energy and Commerce gavel for another term should Republicans take back the House next year, and he’s not eager to hurt his chances of being elected chairman.”
–Melanie Zanona and John Bresnahan, “‘I’m a chairman in exile, dude’: Greg Walden treads carefully under Trump,” Politico, April 17, 209 4:07 pm