House Republican leaders will elect fresh chairmen of a number of influential committees this week, people who will have the power to support carry out President-elect Trump’s priorities in the GOP trifecta over the next two years.
While most committee chair positions are uncontested, several panels have chairs who are leaving Congress or whose terms are restricted under House Republicans’ internal rules. Unless a waiver is granted, House Republican leaders are not allowed to serve at the head of a committee for more than three consecutive terms, unlike the House Democratic Caucus, where some senior leaders have led committees for a decade or more.
The outgoing chairs have sparked competition for key committees such as the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Financial Services Committee.
The fresh chairs will be selected by members of the House GOP Steering Committee, a panel of more than 30 elected Republican leaders and regional representatives that recommends chairs to the entire House GOP conference for formal approval.
The Steering Committee will listen to applicants’ presentations on Monday and Thursday and is expected to make its selection by the end of Thursday. The full GOP conference is likely to sign off on the election the following week.
Here are the competitive House Republican leadership races for the 119th Congress.
Energy and Commerce Committee
Outgoing Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) declined to seek re-election, sparking a race for the influential panel between Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Bob Latta (R -Ohio).
The Energy and Commerce Board has jurisdiction over a wide range of policy issues and federal departments, including Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the Food and Drug Administration and more.
Latta is expected to be the ranking Republican on the committee and has experience on all six subcommittees, including chairing two subcommittees on communications and technology and digital commerce and consumer protection. The 33 bills he signed include measures aimed at expanding nuclear fuel programs and improving 5G coverage.
Guthrie now sits on five of the panel’s six subcommittees and is chairman of the subcommittee on health. His top priorities for the next Congress include approving energy production reform and the race to 6G – ensuring the US surpasses China in developing the technology. The West Point graduate also brings out his amiable personality.
Financial Services Committee
With Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) retiring from Congress, the top job on the House Financial Services Committee is up for grabs — and a quartet of contenders are vying for the gavel.
Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), French Hill (R-Ark.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) have all jumped into the race to replace McHenry — who was sitting -limited – wants to lead the panel responsible for Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, federal regulators and cryptocurrency, areas that are sure to feature prominently in the second Trump administration.
Barr, chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, has promoted a philosophy of free-market capitalism and argued that he is someone who can “build a bridge between the traditional chambers of commerce, the Wall Street Republicans and the America First populists “. who elected Donald Trump.” He is also close to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who has influence on the steering committee.
Hill is now vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and chairman of its subcommittee on digital assets, financial technology and inclusion. In this role, the Arkansas Republican has become known as a informed expert on cryptocurrencies and has introduced a bill to regulate the digital asset.
Lucas, a three-decade veteran of the House, is proud to be the longest-serving Republican on the Financial Services Committee. In a statement in April announcing his bid, the Oklahoman wrote, “I am well-positioned and well-equipped to lead the committee,” citing his extensive experience on Capitol Hill.
Huizenga, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said he wants to “get the economy back on its feet” and “impose regulations properly, rather than haphazardly as we have seen,” arguing that the chairman will have to be “someone who will be able to work with our colleagues in the Senate,” before highlighting his relationship with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is expected to lead the Senate Banking Committee, housing, and urban affairs.
Foreign Affairs Committee
Outgoing House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) declined to request a waiver to continue chairing the committee. Axios first reportedwhich sparked a four-way race between Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
Wagner, the committee’s vice chair, has touted her experience in foreign policy, including as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, which was founded for that purpose was supporting the Trump-era agreement to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states.
If Wagner gets the gavel, she vows to take tough action against China and Iran, secure the border and work to “contain Russia’s recklessly dangerous expansion,” her spokesman told The Hill.
Issa, meanwhile, is positioning himself as one of the candidates best prepared to take the gavel of the foreign affairs body, having visited more than 100 countries. He has also developed personal relationships with world leaders in allied countries and those that have a more hard relationship with the United States
Issa’s experience as chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is also a selling point. He helped put the panel on the map through investigations like “Fast and Furious,” and he helped empower future GOP stars and leaders through the panel’s work.
Wilson presents himself as an elder statesman in the race. During his time in Congress, he has led more than 70 congressional delegation trips to more than 80 countries. And while he’s running for committee chairmanship, he’s giving members of the steering committee pieces of the Berlin Wall that he brought back from Germany in 1990.
One of Wilson’s top priorities is working with President-elect Trump to codify Iran sanctions. Previously he was involved in the introduction of the maximum pressure law.
Mast, on the other hand, came to Congress in 2017 after serving in the U.S. Army for more than 12 years, where he received a Purple Heart, among other honors. The Florida Republican made headlines last year after he wore his Israeli military uniform, which he volunteered alongside after his time in the army, to the Capitol as a show of support for Israel.
Education and Workforce Committee
Outgoing Education and Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) had received a waiver to serve another term beyond term limits in this Congress, but is not seeking to serve again.
That has opened a race between Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who ran against Foxx for the post nearly two years ago, and Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah).
Walberg’s case is that he is one of the most senior members of the committee. His top priorities in the fresh Congress include supporting parental rights, combating anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism on campus, and updating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
The committee will play a role in House Republicans’ partisan reconciliation legislation that they hope to push through Congress to Trump’s desk, given plans to address student loan problems.
Owens, meanwhile, runs a platform that includes school choice, combating anti-Semitism and diversity on campus, equity and inclusion initiatives in the classroom, and promoting skills-first hiring practices with an eye toward the skills-based economy.
Transport and Infrastructure Committee
Current Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) is in his third term at the helm of the GOP on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but received a waiver from the steering committee this week to run for a fourth term – after President-elect Trump opted to do so to choose former congressman and former Fox News host Sean Duffy as transportation secretary instead of Graves.
But Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) is also looking for the gavel for the powerful body.
Graves touts himself as a seasoned lawmaker and touts his experience implementing the Federal Aviation Administration’s five-year reauthorization law, which took effect earlier this year. And looking ahead to the next Congress, Graves hopes to utilize a five-year highway reauthorization bill as a tool to support Trump advance his transportation priorities.
Crawford, meanwhile, has policy materials focused on investing in the most commonly used transportation modes. He argues that investments in “highways, railways, ports and airways… cannot be subsumed by investments in “nice to have” or “soft” infrastructure projects” such as “cycle paths, civil traffic enforcement, wildlife crossings” or other initiatives.
