Washington, D.C. - Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the Rules Committee joined Dallas Morning News for a legacy piece interview on his 22-year tenure in Congress. Congressman Burgess highlighted the work he has done for the 26th Congressional district, how his medical expertise influenced legislation introduced in Congress, and what is in store for the future of Texas and the United States.

Doctor-turned-politician Michael Burgess leaves Congress after 22 years
By: Joseph Morton

The question came at a Republican forum during Dr. Michael Burgess’ 2002 run for a Denton-based seat in Congress: Which committees did the obstetrician-turned-politician covet if he won the election?

The fairly innocuous query managed to trip up the political neophyte.

“I’m going, ‘Oh God, they’ve got committees in Congress?’ ” Burgess said with a chuckle, recounting his lame answer about his committee hopes being unimportant because he would put in so many hours.

Burgess, a first-time candidate, was focused on his powerful opponent in the Republican primary — Denton County Judge Scott Armey.

The son of House Majority Leader Dick Armey, looking to succeed his father, had a list of high-power endorsements. After finishing a distant second in the crowded primary, Burgess was widely viewed as a longshot to win the runoff.

A chief attack line from Burgess and his allies was that a congressional seat was not something to be inherited.

Burgess shocked Texas — and himself — by decisively winning the runoff. He cruised through the general election, then won reelection 10 times before deciding last year to retire.

On Capitol Hill, Burgess landed a spot on the influential Rules Committee, which sets the House floor agenda and controls the flow of legislation.

He became well-versed in how the House functions and established himself as a leading Republican expert on healthcare policy, expertise he said he’s offered to share in a potential position with the incoming Trump administration.

When Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, stepped aside as Appropriations Committee chair earlier this year, dominoes toppled and put Burgess in charge of the Rules Committee to cap his career in Congress.

Burgess, 73, will be followed by 30-year-old Brandon Gill, who won a crowded primary with 58% of the vote, defeating 10 candidates, including Scott Armey.

Gill founded the DC Enquirer, a conservative news site, and worked with father-in-law Dinesh D’Souza on the film 2000 Mules that featured allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and has faced significant criticism over the methodology at the heart of those allegations.

Burgess, who lives in Aubrey, noted Gill accomplished what he couldn’t, avoiding a runoff in a crowded primary field. Burgess said when Texans bring up the congressman-elect’s youth, he urges them to give the new guy a chance.

“You gave me a chance 22 years ago, and for the most part, it’s worked out,” he said.

Digging in on the Hill
Burgess said he learned early that representing a safe Republican district meant not being tapped to handle high-profile bills or handed plum earmarks typically reserved for those in battlegrounds.

He would have to make his own way if he wanted to do more than drum up campaign donations.

“I didn’t give up a 25-year medical career and take time away from my family to come up here and just be a pretty face and raise money,” Burgess said. “I wanted to get stuff done.”

He learned the inner workings of Congress and deftly navigated the rise of the Tea Party and the influence of President-elect Donald Trump’s populism.

His years on the Rules Committee illustrate how top Republicans came to rely on him, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

“He just kept his head down and ingratiated himself with the powers that be in the Republican Party who have long treated him as a trustworthy representative of the leadership,” Jillson said. “I think of him as an effective institutionalist.”

Burgess, who referred to himself with a chuckle as a “professional backbencher,” dug into the minutia of health care policy and focused on projects important to the district.

He recalled a Dallas Morning News headline shortly before Christmas 2015 about the Lewisville dam, or “The dam called trouble.”

The story outlined problems that had cropped up around the dam and how a breach could devastate the Dallas area, putting 431,000 people in harm’s way and leaving downtown Dallas under 50 feet of water.

Burgess said he helped focus the Army Corps of Engineers’ attention on the dam and pushed for funding to address the situation.

“People say, we know you’re leaving, what’s your legacy? Did you get a new bridge? Or did you get a new lake that we can name after you?” Burgess said. “No, I didn’t get you a new lake, but I kept you from losing your old lake, and I think that’s important.”

He cited other projects that addressed local flooding issues and his push for new veterans health facilities in Fort Worth and Denton — accomplishments that don’t produce banner headlines but were important priorities for the district.

Medical expertise
As one of the few physicians in the House, Burgess quickly became a go-to Republican expert on healthcare policy.

He was a sharp critic of the Affordable Care Act and wrote a book that dove into the weeds of conservative health care solutions. After serving as a top healthcare policy adviser to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, Burgess was chagrined to see the Arizona Republican’s thumbs-down kill a GOP repeal-and-replace effort.

A major Burgess initiative involved the repeal of the doctor-reimbursement formula that was a perpetual headache for Congress. Lawmakers regularly had to address the “doc fix” to protect physicians from financial hits that threatened to make it harder for Medicare patients to find providers.

More recently, Burgess got legislation through the House that allows the official budget process to account for health measures’ savings over a longer time frame.

He said the measure, still pending in the Senate, could help Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with his agenda to “make America healthy again.”

Advice and what’s next
Burgess said former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, once gave him “holy hell” for voting against a spending bill.

It’s a different world today with new Republican arrivals opposing party leaders on procedural motions and spending bills.

Burgess said he received sage advice over the years that representatives have to vote their conscience and the interests of their district, but they also should back up their leadership on the speaker vote and procedural matters.

And they should be careful about surprising colleagues in opposing them because politicians have long memories.

“Do not diminish the power of the incoming president’s agenda, because you’ve got a particular ax to grind,” Burgess said.

What’s next for him?

“It has occurred to me that the encyclopedic knowledge of health care policy for the last 22 years that I carry around with me every day, it would be selfish to allow that to go to waste,” Burgess said.

“So I have submitted a resume to the incoming administration, if they’re interested obviously. I would be as helpful as I could be,” he said.

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