House committee chairmen are in place for the 114th Congress, with some old faces staying in place and some shuffling around to new appointments.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appointed four of the chairmen: Pete Sessions (R-Texas) at the Rules Committee and Candice Miller (R-Mich.) at the Administration Committee will keep their posts. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) will take the helm of the Ethics Committee from Mike Conaway (R-Texas), and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will take the gavel from retiring chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) at the Intelligence Committee.
“At a time when the United States faces major international challenges including significant terror threats, I am honored and humbled to have been entrusted with this position,” Nunes said. “I’d like to thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger for their exceptional bipartisan leadership of the Intelligence Committee. The committee’s work is vital because strong congressional oversight of the intelligence community is critical for our national defense posture.”
The Republican Steering Committee made recommendations for the rest of the committee chairs, which goes to the full conference for ratification.
Staying in their posts will be Ed Royce (R-Calif.) at Foreign Affairs, Mike McCaul (R-Texas) at Homeland Security, Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) at Judiciary, John Kline (R-Minn.) at Education and Workforce, Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) at Financial Services, Fred Upton (R-Mich.) at Energy & Commerce, Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) at Veterans Affairs, Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) at Transportation and Infrastructure, and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) at Space, Science and Technology.
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) will take over for retiring chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) at Armed Services, and Rob Bishop (R-Utah) will take the gavel from retiring chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) at Natural Resources.
Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) will take over for Sam Graves (R-Mo.) at Small Business. Conaway will move over to Agriculture, currently led by Frank Lucas (R-Okla.).
Paul Ryan moves out of the Budget Committee seat over to Ways and Means, where he takes over from retiring chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.).
Taking Ryan’s gavel at Budget will be Tom Price (R-Ga.).
“We will put forward a budget that restores balance to the nation’s books. It will provide a blueprint for how to save and strengthen vital health and retirement programs while ensuring needed resources for those who protect and defend our great nation,” Price said. “Key to accomplishing real results will be to use budgetary processes at our disposal to move meaningful legislation through the House and Senate and to the president’s desk for his consideration. This can and must be done in a transparent manner with consultation and input from members across different committees of jurisdiction and Congress at large.”
And at the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, famously led by Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) since the 2010 GOP rout that took control of the lower chamber, Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is the new chairman.
Chaffetz said he has “great respect” for Issa and “can’t thank him enough for his many years of dedicated service leading the Oversight Committee.”
“I thank him for the professional opportunities he has allowed me on the committee, and for his personal friendship,” Chaffetz added. “His commitment to the public good is without question.”
Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who’s gotten into some serious head-butting with Issa over the years, said he’s looking forward “to working together to conduct bipartisan oversight, develop constructive reforms, and move our nation forward.”
“I am hopeful that Rep. Chaffetz will work closely with Democrats to develop our Committee’s agenda for the next Congress, consult closely on our rules and protocols, and address the core issues that go to the center of people’s daily lives,” Cummings said. “I am encouraged that Rep. Chaffetz has shown a sincere interest in working together and focusing on reform, and I hope this bipartisanship continues.”
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