Republicans will take control of the House on Tuesday. And with that comes the passing of the gavel within the chamber’s many committees.
The newly installed committee chairs will suddenly wield more power and influence over legislation and oversight. Several have vowed to turn up the heat on President Joe Biden and his administration.
What You Need To Know
- Republicans will take control of the House on Tuesday. And with that comes the passing of the gavel within the chamber’s many committees
- The newly installed committee chairs will suddenly wield more power and influence over legislation and oversight
- The House Republican Conference Steering Committee earlier this month ratified chairs in uncontested elections, The Hill reported
- Others have yet to be voted on and might not be decided until after a new House speaker is elected
The House Republican Conference Steering Committee earlier this month ratified chairs in uncontested elections, The Hill reported. Others have yet to be voted on and might not be decided until after a new House speaker is elected.
Here’s a look at some of the top committees and who will be leading them, according to a letter signed by the chair-elects earlier this month voicing support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for speaker.
Appropriations: Kay Granger (Texas)
What the committee does: One of the most powerful committees in the House, it is responsible for crafting spending bills that allocate billions of taxpayer dollars to fund most of the functions of the federal government.
The chair’s background: A former school teacher and Fort Worth mayor, Granger, 79, has served in the House since 1997. She has been the Appropriations Committee’s ranking Republicans since 2019. Granger will be the first Republican woman to chair the panel.
What she’s said: Granger told the Fort Worth Report that she aims to cut wasteful spending, conduct strict oversight of the Biden administration and focus funding on national security, including the border and military. Granger has previously complained that Biden has abused his power through executive actions. She will now be better positioned to push back on those.
Energy and Commerce: Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.)
What the committee does: The oldest continuous standing committee in the chamber, the Energy and Commerce Committee oversees a vast range of issues that include health care, food and drugs, climate change, national energy policy, nuclear facilities, the internet, cybersecurity, broadcast and cable television, consumer protection, motor vehicle safety, travel and tourism, and interstate and foreign commerce.
The chair’s background: McMorris Rodgers has represented Washington on Capitol Hill since 2005. She ascended to GOP House leadership in 2009 as vice chair of the House Republican Conference before becoming chair from 2013-19. She’s been the Energy and Commerce Committee’s top Republican since 2021.
What she’s said: In an interview earlier this month with The Spokesman-Review, McMorris Rodgers said she hopes to take advantage of opportunities for bipartisan bills in the House, where the Republicans hold a narrow majority. Among the legislation she’s hoping to pass: secure “a clean energy future” and improve transparency about the prices hospitals charge patients. McMorris Rodgers also said she is planning to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
Foreign Affairs: Michael McCaul (Texas)
What the committee does: It is responsible for oversight and legislation involving foreign assistance, national security, strategic planning and agreements, military deployment, peacekeeping, international sanctions and more.
The chair’s background: McCaul is beginning his 10th term in the House. He chaired the Homeland Security Committee from 2013-19 and has been the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee the past four years. He was a federal prosecutor before entering politics.
What’s he said: McCaul told ABC’s “This Week” last month that he is committed to providing aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, but added Republicans “are going to provide more oversight, transparency and accountability. We’re not going to write a blank check.” He also vowed to hold hearings on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, in which 13 American service members were killed in a suicide bombing outside the Kabul Airport. “The way it [the withdrawal] was done was such a disaster and such a disgrace to our veterans that served in Afghanistan,” McCaul said. “They deserve answers to the many questions we have.”
Judiciary: Jim Jordan (Ohio)
What the committee does: The panel deals with issues relating to the legal system, including the Justice and Homeland Security departments. That puts a wide range of issues in its scope, including immigration, antitrust laws and terrorism, to name a few. The committee also has the rare but important responsibilities of holding impeachment proceedings and overseeing proposed constitutional amendments.
The chair’s background: Jordan, 58, was first sworn into the House in 2007. He’s been the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee since March 2020. Jordan is a founding member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chair from 2015-17. Before entering politics, Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State in the 1980s and '90s. He's been accused of ignoring allegations that a team doctor sexually abused athletes during his time there, which he has denied.
What he’s said: Jordan is planning multiple investigations into Biden and his administration, including the president’s alleged ties to his son Hunter’s foreign business deals, the alleged politicization of the Justice Department — including the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for classified and other presidential documents — and the Homeland Security Department’s handling of the southern border. “I think there are all kinds of questions that need to be answered. And we’re determined to get there,” Jordan said during a news conference last month.
Oversight and Reform: James Comer (Ky.)
What the committee does: It is the primary investigative committee in the House. The panel has broad authority to launch inquiries across the full range of government activities within its legislative scope.
The chair’s background: A farmer and ex-Kentucky agriculture commissioner, Comer, 50, has served in Congress since November 2016, when he won a special election. He’s been the ranking member of the Oversight Committee since June 2020.
What he’s said: Like Jordan, Comer has, too, indicated he plans to dig into Hunter Biden’s business activities. Comer has last month “we already have evidence that would point that Joe Biden was involved with Hunter Biden on this,” which he said “raises troubling questions about whether President Biden is a national security risk and about whether he is compromised by foreign governments.” The White House has called Comer’s allegations “politically-motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories.”
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Transportation & Infrastructure: Sam Graves (Mo.)
What the committee does: It has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation, including aviation, maritime, highways, bridges, railroads and mass transit, as well as over other aspects of national infrastructure, such as clean water, wastewater management, pipelines and the management of federally owned real estate and buildings. The Transportation Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, Amtrak, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are among the entities the fall under the panel’s purview.
The new chair’s background: Graves, 59, is beginning his 12th term in the House and has sat on the committee since arriving in Washington in 2001. An aviation pilot, Graves has served as the Transportation Committee’s ranking member the past four years. From 2011-15, he chaired the House Small Business Committee.
What he’s said: Graves, who voted against the 2021 $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, has promised to prioritize oversight of the Biden administration, including how money from the infrastructure law is being spent. “We have to make sure our infrastructure dollars are being spent wisely and not wasted on this Administration’s Green New Deal priorities,” Graves tweeted on Nov. 30.
Some key committees still TBD
Among the other major committees awaiting votes on their chairs are Budget, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means.
There’s a three-way race to lead the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs and other revenue-raising measures. Reps. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Adrian Smith of Nebraska and Jason Smith of Missouri are running for the chairmanship. Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, currently the top Republican on Ways and Means, did not seek reelection this year.
Jason Smith is currently the ranking member of the Budget Committee but opted to pursue the top spot on the Ways and Means Committee instead. That has left Reps. Buddy Carter of Georgia and Jodey Arrington of Texas vying to lead Budget.
Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina reportedly received a waiver earlier this month that would allow her to serve a fourth term as the committee’s top Republican. She chaired the panel from 2017-19 and has been the ranking member ever since. Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, however, is challenging Foxx.
Other chairs
Here are some other known committee chairs that have been decided:
- Agriculture: Glenn Thompson (Pa.)
- China (Select Committee): Mike Gallagher (Wis.)
- Financial Services: Patrick McHenry (N.C.)
- Intelligence (Permanent Select Committee): Michael Turner (Ohio)
- Natural Resources: Bruce Westerman (Ark.)
- Science, Space and Technology: Frank Lucas (Okla.)
- Veterans’ Affairs: Mike Bost (Ill.)
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