John Katko reflects on time in Congress

As he campaigned against Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, he criticized the incumbent’s legislative record. He told voters that if he had the same record, he would expect to be fired. 

That desire to be an effective, independent legislator won over central New Yorkers. He defeated Maffei by 20 points. He was reelected three more times, twice by double-digits. 

Katko’s time in Congress is over. He decided not to seek reelection in 2022, opting to spend more time with his family. What he leaves behind is a legacy that rivals some of central New York’s most prominent members of Congress, names like Boehlert and Walsh. 

Katko reflected on his career in interviews with The Citizen — the keys to his success, his achievements and why he decided to step away. 

When Katko first campaigned for Congress, he sought to be an independent representative willing to work in a bipartisan fashion. He also wanted to get things done. 

According to Congress.gov, Katko sponsored 134 bills. The House of Representatives passed 43 of those measures and seven were signed into law. But that only tells part of the story. 

The tally does not include bills that were attached to larger packages, the preferred method in the modern Congress to advance legislation. When those bills are factored in, Katko says he had nearly 100 bills passed by the House and 35 signed into law. 

Katko admits that he does not rack up those kinds of numbers without building relationships with members of both parties. 

“If you consistently vote in a bipartisan manner and you vote against your party when you think it’s the right thing to do, you will get a reputation and people will come to you to work with you across the aisle knowing that they got a better chance of working with someone like you who will bend a little bit,” he said. “I think that really helped a lot.” 

There are numerous bipartisan wins over the years, from the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2021 — Katko played a pivotal role in drafting the legislation — to breaking with his party to support a bill that will boost domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing. 

As his time in Congress wound down, John Katko was invited to join President Joe Biden on Air Force One to Syracuse for a celebration of Micron’s plan to build a memory chip manufacturing facility in central New York. 

That invitation was recognition of Katko’s work on the bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, that made Micron’s investment possible. But Biden, a Democrat, was not done showing his appreciation for Katko, a Republican, and his service in Congress. 

During his remarks at Onondaga Community College, Biden gave Katko a shoutout. He told the crowd that he liked Katko “a lot” and thanked him for working together on issues like the chips bill. 

Biden added, “I’m, quite frankly, a little sorry you’re leaving.” 

It was not the only time that Biden acknowledged Katko’s commitment to bipartisanship. A private ceremony was held at the White House in September when Biden signed a bill to extend certain employment protections to Federal Emergency Management Agency reservists. Katko, who introduced the bill with U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat, was invited to attend the ceremony in the Oval Office. 

“Nobody else was there,” Katko said. “It was a quick signing ceremony and then (Biden) sat down and talked with us for a half hour.” 

After the meeting with Biden, Katko recalls White House aides telling him that the president recognizes his willingness to work across the aisle. 

“I took pride in that,” he said. 

As a member of Congress, there are often numerous issues to address, from in-district challenges to topics of national importance. 

Katko, a former federal prosecutor, was interested in a familiar subject — homeland security. 

He was a member of the House Homeland Security Committee through his four terms in Congress. The first bills he had signed into law were products of his work as chair of a transportation security subcommittee. 

Katko quickly became a leader on issues related to foreign fighter travel and the threats posed by ISIS, a Middle Eastern terrorist group. Over the years, the threats posed by cybersecurity emerged as a hot topic. 

“The paradigm has completely shifted,” said Katko, who finished his congressional career as the ranking Republican member of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Now, cybersecurity is the number one threat to the country. That’s why I gravitated toward that issue because it naturally presented itself as a problem.” 

When Congress established the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security, Katko was involved in the effort and continued to play a role in the agency’s development. He introduced legislation to bolster federal cybersecurity, some of which became law. 

Beyond homeland security, his role on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee allowed him to advocate for the Interstate 81 project. He never took a stance on which I-81 alternative he supported, insisting that his role was to support what the community decided and ensure that federal funding is available for the project. 

The transportation and infrastructure committee also gave him a forum to discuss water quality issues, namely the harmful algal blooms affecting Owasco Lake. 

“I had no idea what an algal bloom was when I came to Congress,” Katko said, adding that he worked to address water quality issues in infrastructure bills and to bolster revolving funds to support state and local water infrastructure projects. 

There were local priorities, too, from working on the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park to pushing for the same designation for Fort Ontario in Oswego. 

One issue Katko remains passionate about is mental health. He became one of the leaders on mental health issues in Congress. He successfully sought to increase access to pediatric mental health services in central New York by partnering with Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli. He co-chaired the Mental Health Caucus with U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano, a California Democrat. 

Napolitano told The Citizen that she hopes Katko will stay active in highlighting the importance of mental health care. 

“The partnership was great and I’m going to miss him,” she said. “I found him to be very helpful and we worked together well.” 

Two of Katko’s four terms in Congress were during Donald Trump’s presidency. While his approach to legislating did not change, it was a different environment. 

Katko faced backlash from different ends of the political spectrum, from Trump-supporting Republicans who felt he wasn’t a team player and Democrats who believed that the GOP congressman should take a stronger stance against his party’s standard-bearer. 

It was a balancing act. Katko says he had a good relationship with the Trump administration — Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, visited Syracuse and joined Katko for an education roundtable in 2018 — but acknowledged that it was “sometimes hard to work across the aisle” during those years. 

Katko was not a Trump supporter when the real estate magnate was elected president in 2016, but endorsed him for reelection in 2020. 

Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University and host of “Campbell Conversations” on WRVO, told The Citizen that Katko faced significant political pressure throughout his congressional career. 

“That had to have been multiplied by a large factor because of Trump and the deep passions that Trump generated,” he said. “I think he dealt with that in a very good way. That would’ve been hard for anybody and I think he handled that with a certain dignity and grace which needs to be recognized.” 

While Katko sided with Trump to vote for tax legislation in 2017, one of the major achievements of the Trump administration. But it’s Katko’s vote to impeach Trump that will be remembered. 

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021, congressional Democrats pushed to hold Trump accountable. They introduced an article of impeachment that Katko reviewed. On the eve of the vote, he announced he would break with his party’s leadership and vote to impeach Trump. 

“I approached the vote like I did any other vote,” Katko said in October, nearly two years after Trump was impeached. “It was not about saving my political skin but doing what’s right. If you’re going to be independent, that’s how you got to think. I put my money where my mouth is. I looked at the facts, applied them to the charge and I made my decision.”

He continued, “I don’t regret it for a second. Did it come at a great personal cost? Yeah. But oftentimes that’s what you do when you’re a leader. Leadership can be lonely. Leadership can be very tough. But it’s also rewarding when you know you stood up to things that were going to be very tough. In that respect, I’m proud of it like I am all my votes.” 

The reception to the vote was mixed. Trump loyalists were disgusted and withdrew their support. Katko was praised by others, including leaders within the GOP and Democrats who were among his harshest critics. 

After Katko announced he would not run for reelection in 2022, Trump celebrated and took some credit for the decision. 

“It’s irrelevant to me,” Katko said. “I did what I thought was right. I think history will judge me appropriately and I can look in the mirror and like what I see. That’s the most important thing.” 

Even as Katko lost some support within his party and the influential Conservative Party, he appeared to be in a strong position to win reelection in 2022. He raised $1.8 million in 2021, an impressive haul in a non-election year. He maintained his bipartisan record and while redistricting loomed, he was well positioned for the midterm elections. 

But personal losses took their toll. He and his wife, Robin, lost their parents within the last few years. Katko, who turned 60 in November, began to think about his future.

“Not that this isn’t important,” he said of serving in Congress, “but it’s not the most important thing. Family is.” 

He discussed it with Robin and felt it was “the right time” to bow out. He announced one year ago, in January 2022, that he would not run for reelection. While there was speculation that the decision was due to politics, he is confident that he would have won a fifth term. 

“I knew I was going to win again,” he said. “There’s no question from the polling that we would’ve won. I just felt it was the right time for my family. I don’t have any regrets about it. I know it was the right thing to do.” 

In his farewell addresses, Katko discussed the impact on his family. While sacrifices were made, they were proud. 

Katko told The Citizen about his late mother, Mary Lou, and her request after he won the 2014 election. She kept asking for a campaign sign to put in her apartment, but she didn’t want a typical yard sign. She wanted one of the larger signs. 

She got her wish, but Katko was not expecting what happened next. 

“Next time I go over,” he said, pausing as he became emotional,” she had it hanging above her bed. Everything in the room was red, white and blue… It gave her a lot of joy.” 

Katko is unsure of what he will do next. First, he plans to spend time with his family, especially his wife, Robin. While he has retired from Congress, he is not done working. He will explore other opportunities outside of public service. 

As he reflects on his four terms in Congress, he is proud of what he achieved. He believes he followed through on his promises and accomplished a lot for central New York. 

“I worked hard and I was fair,” he said. “I didn’t let Washington get to me. I kept my word about being bipartisan. The American people aren’t stupid. I think a lot of people in politics take their constituents for granted. I never did and they know that.”