Character

O'Bannon

opportunistic transactional constituency‑driven leverage-seeking

O'Bannon operates as a constituency‑driven U.S. Representative whose vote functions as transactional leverage in narrow legislative fights. He remains offstage but exerts outsized tactical influence: staff repeatedly invoke him as a bargaining counter, predict he will demand revisiting farm subsidies, and alternate between counting him as reclaimed and counting him as flipped. His pattern of contingent support forces the White House into short‑term hardball calculations, making him a practical, opportunistic actor whose allegiance hinges on concrete concessions rather than ideology.

3 appearances

Also known as: OBannon, Rep. O'Bannon, O'BANNON

O'Bannon's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

3 moments

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

72‑Hour Emergency: Votes Flip, Plan Formed

Absent, but his supposed position becomes a flashpoint for staff disagreement.

O'Bannon is referenced by Josh as part of his count; he appears only as a data point in competing tallies and fuels debate over the reliability of sources.

View full event

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Forgotten Anniversary and the Hardball Green Light

Not present; implied to be pragmatic and receptive to concrete offers from the administration when it suits his district interests.

O'Bannon is referenced as the other transactional actor who might 'order off the menu' — his potential concessions are part of Josh's calculus for how to reward or placate holdouts …

View full event

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Authorize the Hard Line on Katzenmoyer

Offstage; inferred to be willing to accept programmatic payoffs for political support.

O'Bannon is invoked as a possible beneficiary of concessions (allowed to 'order off the menu') — not present but explicitly part of Josh's contingent strategy if coercion fails.

View full event