Jeff Haffley
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Jeffrey Haffley, played by Steven Culp, is a fictional Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing a district in the state of Washington which includes Spokane. He was Speaker of the House from 2003 until after the 2006 election, which cost the Republicans control of the House. He is a recurring character on the American television show The West Wing. Haffley appears to have been modeled on former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich[citation needed], and his adversarial relationship with Democratic President Josiah Bartlet mirrors the dynamic between Gingrich and President Bill Clinton.
Haffley, together with Representatives Connelly and Mitchell, were dubbed the "Unholy Trinity" by Bartlet aide Joshua Lyman, and Lyman predicted (or perhaps hoped) that Mitchell, rather than Haffley, would be selected to replace Glen Allen Walken as Speaker. Also according to Lyman, even Republicans considered Haffley to be a fascist, and Haffley harbors a deep dislike of Josh Lyman.
The Republican leadership did in fact choose Haffley to be the next Speaker. Haffley wasted no time in confronting the Bartlet Administration, with the first major battleground being the President's nominee to succeed John Hoynes as Vice President of the United States. Bartlet's personal choice was his Secretary of State, Lewis Berryhill. Berryhill, a tremendously popular personality, would have been all but guaranteed the 2006 Democratic nomination for President, and thus Haffley and the Republicans conspired to thwart his candidacy. Haffley presented Bartlet with several candidates who could be confirmed easily, but who were considered unlikely choices to succeed Bartlet. Wanting to avoid a major floor fight (and in light of the fact that even the Democratic leadership considered Berryhill to be nearly dictatorial), Bartlet eventually selected Representative Robert Russell (D-CO).
Victorious, Haffley next confronted the President over the 2004 federal budget. Bartlet drew a line in the sand, leading to a near-total shutdown of the United States government. At first, Haffley and the Republicans were winning the war for public opinion, with Time magazine giving him the cover with the caption "The New Boss?" However, Haffley made a key public relations error by hesitating to meet with Bartlet on Capitol Hill and was forced to negotiate a budget on Bartlet's terms, instead of his last minute demands.
Following the budget confrontation, Haffley's power diminished somewhat, his aggressive tactics being seen by more moderate Republicans as a failed strategy. Still, as the President met resistance from his own party as well as the Republicans, he vocally opposed President Bartlet's eventually successful Israeli-Palestinian peace summit as a betrayal of Israel.
Although he did not personally seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2006, he did his best to embarrass the Democrats during the primary season, several times calling a vote on stem cell research while many Democratic congressmen were out of town and then calling the vote off when they returned. However, this backfired on the Republicans, when Representative Matt Santos (D-TX) staged a successful maneuver to defeat the bill, giving additional publicity to the eventual Democratic nominee. Haffley later introduced an education bill containing elements similar to those of Santos' education plans, which were a key part of his campaign, in order to dare Bartlet to undermine Santos.
Haffley's term as speaker came to an end during the 2006 election, when the Republicans lost the majority in the House of Representatives.
[edit] Trivia
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Haffley's district includes Spokane, Washington which means he represents the Fifth district of Washington. The same district has been represented by a Speaker of the House in real life; Tom Foley, a Democrat, who was Speaker of the House from 1989-1995.
