By Juliegrace Brufke @ TheHill.com, Dec. 8

The clout of a bipartisan group of lawmakers aimed at forging consensus is on the rise.

With the House expected to have its most narrow Democratic margin of control in decades, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus see the group’s influence growing exponentially in the next Congress. And its members are looking to flex their strength in pushing for policies that can pass both chambers. 

The bipartisan group of roughly 50 members, which is co-chaired by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), has played a leading role in moving the needle on COVID-19 relief negotiations after a months-long stalemate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will face a more difficult path next year in passing controversial bills due to her caucus’s diminished ranks. The support of the Problem Solvers could be needed on an array of measures.

However, that would require Pelosi to run the House differently than she and other recent Speakers have conducted business in the partisan chamber.

Reed said his group is both expanding in size and finding its footing on ways to push for and shape an agenda both parties can support.

“Obviously, the Problem Solvers Caucus, in my opinion, is growing in strength. It’s growing in depth, not only with the numbers of members, but the sophistication of members understanding the process, understanding the politics and understanding the policy. And so as we go into the next congressional session, I think that’s all going to play to our strengths of wanting to govern for the people back home,” he said in an interview. [.....]

In past Congresses, groups like the House Freedom Caucus were able to successfully push policies to the right and derail deals it felt weren’t conservative enough by using procedural tactics and vowing to withhold enough votes to prevent legislation from passing. Multiple members of the Problem Solvers, which was established in 2017 to provide a space for members to find common ground, said they see themselves as a foil to the Freedom Caucus that could potentially use similar tactics. But the caucus leaders say their focus is on getting bills passed and signed into law.

Leadership officials have ignored many of the Problem Solvers’ plans over the past few years. But there have been successes [....]