Republican lawmakers have already started jockeying to control key committees in the House next year, including the panel that will likely play a major role in replacing the Affordable Care Act, which President-elect Trump and the GOP have promised to repeal.
The marquee race is to replace Michigan’s Fred Upton, who is term-limited, at the helm of the power Energy and Commerce Committee. Already a seat of power, the panel will have a lead role in any effort to replace Obamacare.
Reps. Joe Barton of Texas, John Shimkus of Illinois and Oregon’s Greg Walden all want the gavel.
“E&C will be key in repeal of the ACA,” Barton tweeted in advocating for himself. “We need a conservative who will get govt out of the way and protect the rights of the unborn.”
Barton promised colleagues that if he wins, “Americans will see improved access to: care, telecom, and abundant and affordable energy for their homes and businesses.”
Barton will be serving his 17th term and has the most seniority, but he has already led the panel once, from 2004 to 2007. He was the committee’s ranking Republican from 2007-2009 and now serves as its chairman emeritus. He would be the eighth member of the Lone Star State’s House delegation to head a committee in the next Congress, if successful.
The Republican Steering Committee, which is appointed by leadership, ultimately selects the chairmen. It also decides which panels members get to serve on.
Shimkus has served one more term than Walden, but Walden is coming off a successful run at the helm of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Despite losing at least five seats, Republicans hailed Walden for not losing more. At the beginning of the cycle, the bulk of seats in play were GOP-held, and Republicans were bracing for losses of 20 or more House seats on Election Day.
Walden maintained a rigorous travel schedule and raised $8 million for the NRCC during his two cycles as chairman, factors the Steering Committee will take into consideration.
Veterans’ Affairs Committee
Energy and Commerce isn’t the only committee up for grabs in the new Congress, and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee will see contests for both the chairmanship and the ranking Democratic slot.
Florida’s Jeff Miller — whose name has been mentioned as a possible Department of Veterans Affairs secretary — is retiring at year’s end, leaving three of his GOP colleagues competing to succeed him: Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Doug Lamborn of Colorado and Phil Roe of Tennessee.
Bilirakis, who was elected in 2006, is the committee’s vice chairman. Two of his VA-related bills became law this year. His Promise Act aims to combat opioid abuse among veterans and the Cover Act allows veterans to seek alternative mental health services, such as therapy dogs and sports.
Lamborn, who was also just won his sixth term, is second only to Miller in committee seniority. He was an original member of the House Tea Party Caucus and an ally of former Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, whose anti-immigration stance earned him a national reputation.
On the Democratic side, the 24-count fraud indictment of Florida’s Corrine Brown left an opening that California’s Mark Takano has filled since July. He wants to remain there but Minnesota’s Tim Walz is challenging him for the ranking member post.
Takano is a Japanese-American first elected in 2014. His parents were interned during WWII and he has been an outspoken critic of former Navy Seal Carl Higbie’s suggestion that the internment set a legal precedent that could allow President-elect Trump to force Muslims to register with the government.
Walz spent 24 years in the military and has been a vocal veterans’ advocate since arriving on Capitol Hill in 2007. He was a newcomer to politics, running his first race as a high school teacher and football coach. He just barely survived a rematch with Republican Jim Hagedorn to hang on in the Gopher State’s 1st District, which runs along Minnesota’s southern border.
Administration Committee
The House Administration Committee is also losing its leader. Chairwoman Candice Miller is retiring to become Macomb County drain commissioner back in her home state of Michigan.
The position is very nuts and bolts — the committee acts partly like a human resources department and partly like a facilities department — but it can wield some real power.
Disgraced Rep. Bob Ney used the perch to collect bribes and favors from lobbyists, most notably Jack Abramoff. The Ohio Republican was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2006.
House Speaker Paul Ryan will name Miller’s successor, which looks likely to either be the committee’s No. 2 man, Mississippi’s Greg Harper, or its No. 3, Illinois’ Rodney Davis.
Harper was first elected in 2008 and became the only freshman appointed to the Republican Steering Committee that year. He has served on the House Administration Committee since he was sworn in.
Davis is a former Shimkus staffer first elected in 2012.
Appropriations Committee
The all-powerful Appropriations Committee chairmanship is also up for grabs as Chairman Hal Rogers is term-limited.
New Jersey’s Rodney Frelinghuysen looks to be the lock to replace the Kentucky Republican. He is second only to Rogers in committee seniority. Frelinghuysen hails from a well-known Garden State political family and was first elected to Congress in 1994’s “Republican revolution.”
He is moderate on social issues and a firm science advocate.
Rules Committee
Like the House Administration Committee, Ryan also gets to name the omnipotent Rules Committee chairman.
Every piece of legislation that hits the House floor must go through the Rules Committee, giving its chairman unique power.
Texan Pete Sessions has led the panel since 2013. He was appointed by former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, but enjoys a good relationship with Ryan as well.
The Wisconsin Republican has given no indication yet that he intends to tap anyone else.
Education and the Workforce
Minnesota’s John Kline is barred from seeking another two years as head of the Education and the Workforce panel.
Republican Conference Secretary Virginia Foxx of North Carolina forewent seeking re-election to her leadership post so she could try to succeed Kline as committee chairman.
Foxx, who was first elected in 2004, has a reputation for making comments that draw fire. For example, she once said Americans should fear legislation more than terrorists.
She has pledged to roll back many Obama administration regulations, such as those cracking down on for-profit colleges.
Ethics Committee
The least-desired chairmanship in the House is also up for grabs: the House Ethics Committee.
Pennsylvania’s Charlie Dent is relinquishing the chairmanship under the committee’s own term-limit rules.
Few members enjoy ruling on allegations of wrongdoing by their colleagues and end up as chairman or ranking member largely as favors to the speaker and minority leader that appoint them.
No names have circulated yet as potential Dent replacements. But Ranking Member Linda Sanchez is hoping to leave the committee and wants her colleagues elect her vice chairwoman of the Democratic Caucus during leadership elections Nov. 30.
If the Californian wins, either Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, or her challenger, Ohio’s Tim Ryan, will appoint her replacement on the Ethics Committee.
Budget Committee
Chairman Tom Price of Georgia will remain at the helm but Democrats must replace Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who won Maryland’s open Senate seat, as their top member on the Budget Committee.
Kentucky’s John Yarmuth reportedly has told colleagues he would like the spot.
