WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Aaron Bean settled into a leather chair in the Speaker’s Lobby in the Capitol Building. He tossed a log into the fireplace and picked up a phone call from Clay Today. The smell of smoke hung in the air.

The representative had much to reflect on. The 118th Congress has been tumultuous, and the year isn’t even over. Speaking of the “Speaker’s Lobby,” this year saw former Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy ousted on Oct. 3 – the first time in U.S. history that the House of Representatives had removed its speaker from office.

Bean voted against the motion. He described the year, his first year as a congressional representative, as constantly putting out small fires.

“There’s been plenty of long hours, especially now. We’ve been working tirelessly toward getting a budget and a new speaker. The country is in peril. It has been an unprecedented year,” Bean said.

A razor-thin majority separated McCarthy from his job, Bean said.

“There are 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats in the House. Kevin McCarthy had a 95% approval rate and still lost by four votes. Representatives from Biden’s districts – those who think much differently than Clay County – were able to take advantage of the situation.”

The interview with Bean was interrupted by chiming bells, which called the representatives to the floor. Bean took his seat in the chamber, where he voted “Yea” for a resolution pertaining to small business lending and “Nay” in the vote that would expel Rep. George Santos.

Both measures passed. Santos is the sixth member and only Republican ever expelled from the House.

Still, the representative remains hopeful in the face of great uncertainty. He said he was excited for Rep. Mike Johnson’s leadership to move the country forward.

“Under his leadership, we will restore our economic prosperity, secure our border, rein in government abuse and fight for our fundamental freedoms,” he said in an earlier press release in October.

Bean hasn’t let the jostling on Capitol Hill distract him from fulfilling his campaign promises: securing the southern border, protecting 2nd amendment rights and combatting inflation.

“Everything I do is through that lens,” he said over the phone in an airport. “Clay County is a conservative district, and my campaign was built on conservative tenets.”

He cited Commitment to America as an outline for his policy stances and personal values: an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that’s built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable.

“We spend three-quarters of our time (in the House) fighting Biden,” Bean said. “Can you believe he wants to ban gas stoves?”

Bean serves on the House Committee on Small Business. On that committee, Bean introduced the anti-fraud legislation referred to colloquially as the “We Want Our Money Back Act,” which would require the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration to report to Congress with quarterly updates on the ongoing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans fraud investigations.

“The COVID pandemic is behind us… but fraud remains,” Bean said.

Bean quoted the inspector general, saying, “Over $200 billion of pandemic loan programs were potentially fraudulent… He has identified over 90,000 fraud cases, over (20% of all applicants).”

During social distancing, loan applicants would have to submit a face scan to ensure that one person received one loan. To circumvent the authentication measure, many fraudulent applicants scanned the faces of Barbie or Ken dolls to collect multiple loans. One individual used the method to acquire 19 loans, Bean said.

“This was a big win for the Bean Team,” he said. “That was the first bill that our team introduced, and it passed. It passed unanimously.”

More than anything, the representative wanted to stress how proud he was to represent Florida’s Fourth Congressional District.

“It is the greatest honor. I can’t thank the voters enough. There is nothing I take more seriously. I was born here. I’ve lived here. And my kids are raised here. It’s paradise. It’s home.

“I used to date a girl in Green Cove Springs, and for one of our first dates, I took her to the Clay Theatre. The two of us just recently celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.”

When the interview ended, the representative flew home but couldn’t stay long for the holidays. The representative is preparing for next year’s election season – and all that will be in store – as he continues to represent his constituents from Northeast Florida. And if the second year of his term is anything like his first, it is shaping up to be a busy year indeed.