Ronald W. Lasch

Ronald W. Lasch was born December 7, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Werner and Marietta Lasch. His family moved to Belvidere, New Jersey, and his parents owned and operated a restaurant nearby. Lasch began high school in New Jersey before his appointment as a House Page by Representative William B. Widnall of New Jersey in 1958. After graduating from the House Page School, he worked in Representative Widnall’s office while completing his college degree at George Washington University. In September 1963, he moved to a position as telephone clerk in the House Minority Cloakroom, and remained part of the House Republican staff for the next 37 years.

In 1968, Lasch became manager of the minority cloakroom, where he supervised the distribution of information to Republican Members. As a space for Member interaction, the cloakroom was ideally suited for Lasch to answer questions about party positions on pending legislation and other recent developments in the House.

He was named Minority Postmaster in 1976 and floor assistant in 1979. Lasch employed his considerable institutional knowledge to help Members accomplish their goals on the House Floor. Well-versed in the rules of the House as well as Republican legislative priorities, he possessed the ability to stand back and “view the floor” as a whole. This allowed him to identify potential obstacles to Republican initiatives and provide Members with updates on prospective legislation, the length of floor debates, and vote times.

Lasch’s role as a House Republican staffer steadily expanded over the course of his career, culminating in his work as floor assistant to Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1995. In each position, he demonstrated knowledge of the legislative process, parliamentary procedure, and House traditions. He was also adept at understanding the personal side of lawmaking, forging relationships with Members from both sides of the aisle. Ronald Lasch died on November 14, 2022.