The deficit reduction supercommittee has until Nov. 23 to vote on a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion. The supercommittee consists of six Republicans and six Democrats divided equally between the Senate and House. It was formed in August as part of Congress' last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling.
Portman is likely to stake out a middle ground by emphasizing the need for tax reform, which will allow him to work with Democrats and adhere to the GOP's firm opposition to any tax increases, according to James Thurber, the director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
"He's not ideological, and he's more likely to be one of those individuals that reach out and find common ground even while fully supporting the position of his party on taxes," Thurber said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Portman and other moderate Republicans have focused on closing loopholes as a way to address the federal deficit, according to Morton Kondracke '60, a Dartmouth trustee and former executive editor of the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call.
"That is the way that Republicans interested in raising revenue talk about it," Kondrake said. "They don't talk about raising taxes, but closing loopholes. Portman, since he used to be [the Office of Management and Budget] director, knows where those loopholes are."
Comprehensive tax reform, however, is infeasible in this short timeframe, given that during the Reagan era it took two years to complete a tax overhaul that lowered rates and closed loopholes, Kondracke said. Portman and other committee members are often reluctant to talk publicly about specific proposals, according to Kondracke.
"They took a vow of silence," Kondracke said. "The only word that I know for sure is that they are not going to be able to tackle full-blown tax reform."
Portman will face considerable pressure from his party leadership to oppose Democrats' calls for revenue increases as part of an overall deficit reduction strategy, according to Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C.
"Portman almost certainly will not go against his party's insistence that no new revenues be included in the package," Mann said in an email to The Dartmouth. "The fact that he is a bit more moderate than most of his GOP colleagues makes no difference."
Portman is viewed suspiciously by rank-and-file Republicans including Tea Party members who are adamant about opposing any new taxes, according to Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C.
"The fact that Portman was [former President George W. Bush's] budget director and Bush was big spender makes me a little skeptical as to whether he'll fight the growth of government," Mitchell said.
That suspicion has been deepened by the deficit reduction committee's lack of transparency, feeding concern among Tea Party loyalists that Portman may succumb to the demands of special interests, according to Mitchell.
According to Kondracke, however, Portman's experience suggests his knowledge of fiscal policy, earning him respect from both Republicans and Democrats.
"If there's anyone who knows the budget line by line, it's Rob Portman," Kondracke said. "He's got credibility because he is deemed to be smart, honest and relatively moderate in his approaches."
Compared to the other Republicans on the deficit reduciton supercommittee, Portman is ideologically in the middle, according to Mitchell. Portman is considered one of the four moderate Republicans on the committee, which also includes two conservative Republicans, Mitchell said.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, supported the Republican Congressional leadership's selection of Portman for the committee.
"Minority Leader [Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,] was right to select Sen. Portman as one of the three Republican senators for the deficit reduction committee," Brown said in a statement released to The Dartmouth. "Rob has shown a willingness to find common ground by looking at both tax reform and spending cuts in order to reduce the deficit."
Grassroots Republicans' weariness about Portman can be seen in the conservative media's criticism of Portman when he served in the Bush administration, Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University, said. Those critics may pounce on Portman again if they feel he isn't vocal enough about opposing new taxes as part of the deficit reduction committee, according to Beck.
"Right-wing blogs were very critical of the Bush administration for its willingness to allow spending to increase dramatically," Beck said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Despite the gap between Portman and far-right Republicans inside the Beltway, Portman is unlikely to have to deal with the Tea Party in his own constituency, Beck said.
"Ohio is not a state where there has been a powerful Tea Party presence, so he hasn't seen this sort of pressure from his home state," Beck said.
Portman, who is not up for re-election in 2012, will be less constrained in his policy prescriptions compared to the deficit reduction committee members running next year, according to Kondracke.
"Not having to come up for re-election makes it easier to be even-handed and use your own judgment," Kondracke said.
Even if Portman faces no re-election pressure over the next year, he may still cater to special interests as a way to fundraise for his 2016 race, according to Mann.
"The timing of the next election in the Senate makes little difference," Mann said. "Senators raise money throughout their six-year term."
Portman could not be reached for comment by press time.
