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Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent from California, stated that he will not caucus with Republicans next year if re-elected to the House. During an interview at the Youth Wellbeing Forum in Washington, D.C., Kiley expressed his desire to change House rules that compel independents to affiliate with a political party for committee assignments. He and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici also discussed broader education policy goals, including criticism of efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the Department of Education and plans to update federal education policies to better serve students' needs.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who currently caucuses with Republicans in the House but identifies as an independent, stated during the Youth Wellbeing Forum that if reelected next year, he will not caucus with either major party. He is pushing to change House rules that mandate independents formally align with a party for committee assignments. Kiley believes committee seats should be accessible based on merit rather than party affiliation.
The forum also addressed internal Democratic competition for leadership positions; specifically, Rep. Jahana Hayes from Connecticut is challenging incumbent Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia for the top spot in the House Education and Workforce Committee. When asked about taking sides, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon said she was still weighing her options and consulting with committee members before making a decision.
Written for “Kiley Refuses Republican Caucusing” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 13685: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-16
The News
Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif, said Wednesday he does not plan to caucus with Republicans next year if he is reelected to the House as an independent.
asserted
he → say → independent
In an interview with Semafor’s Nicholas Wu at the Youth Wellbeing Forum, Kiley said he is working to change House rules that require independent members to affiliate with a party in order to sit on committees.
asserted
that → say → committees
He currently caucuses with Republicans for committee purposes.
asserted
He → caucus → purposes
“I’m an independent member now, and yet the rules of the House force me to say, okay, as a formality, for the purposes of committee assignments, I’m in conference with one side or the other,” Kiley said during the joint interview with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore.
asserted
Kiley → ’m → Bonamici
“The committee seats should belong to the American people, and you shouldn’t be denied a seat on committees just because you’re an independent member,” he added.
asserted
he → belong → committees
Wednesday’s event in Washington also touched on a leadership contest among House Democrats on the Education and Workforce Committee, where Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., is challenging Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., for the top Democratic position on the House Education and Workforce Committee.
asserted
Hayes → touch → Committee
Asked whether she would take a side, Bonamici declined to back Scott saying “I’m just weighing my options right now and talking to people in the committee.”
asserted
I → ask → committee
Scott, who is 79 years old, has held the top committee role for six terms.
asserted
who → hold → terms
The lawmakers — both of whom are members of the House education panel — also discussed broader education policy goals.
asserted
both → discuss → goals
Kiley criticized efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the Department of Education, calling the move “fundamentally misguided.”
asserted
Kiley → criticize → move
“When it comes to the core mission of supporting educational excellence across the country, to say that we’re just not going to have this done in the Department of Education anymore, and we’re going to send it to some other department makes absolutely no sense to me,” Kiley said.
asserted
Kiley → come → me
Bonamici said she plans to introduce a bill as soon as Thursday aimed at updating federal education policy to better address the needs of today’s students, including through project-based learning, arts education, and students’ behavioral health needs.
asserted
she → say → learning
“Our education policy has not kept up with the needs of today’s youth,” Bonamici said.
asserted
Bonamici → keep → youth
“We need a well-rounded education.”
asserted
We → need → education
Kiley discussed his work on the High-Quality Charter Schools Act, which would create a federal tax credit for charitable contributions to nonprofit charter-school organizations.
asserted
which → discuss → organizations
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