Posted on 01/09/2023 11:17:53 PM PST by RandFan
After a historic and prolonged battle over the Speakership, House Republicans on Monday moved to wrap up some unfinished organizing business that was put on hold due to opposition to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — including picking who will lead key panels.
The House GOP Steering Committee, a panel of around 30 lawmakers consisting of leadership and elected regional representatives that makes selections for most chairmanships and committee assignments, made its choices for chairs of panels that were uncontested in December.
But it put its selections for four key contested chairmanships — for the Homeland Security, Ways and Means, Budget, and Education and Workforce committees — on hold as a group of hard-line conservatives expressed opposition to McCarthy that threatened to tank his Speaker bid.
House Republicans typically choose their ranking members or committee chairs weeks before the new Congress to allow time for the incoming leaders to hire staff and get organized.
McCarthy gets outsize influence over the Steering panel with four votes, while Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) gets two and all other members get one.
Over the weekend, McCarthy also selected Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who voted against McCarthy on most of the 15 Speaker ballots last week, to fill the “Speaker Designee” slot on the Steering Committee.
Here’s who the Steering Committee picked:
Budget: Rep. Jodey Arrington (Texas)
With former GOP ranking member Jason Smith (Mo.) winning the open Ways and Means chairmanship slot, three GOP members made runs to chair the Budget panel: Reps. Jodey Arrington (Texas), Buddy Carter (Ga.), and Lloyd Smucker (Pa.). A second ballot decided between Arrington and Smucker.
Arrington, who wore his lucky tie depicting cotton blooms as a reference to the large cotton operations around his Lubbock, Texas, district, told reporters that he talked to the Steering Committee about his work with the ”30 for 30” caucus, a group of 30 Republicans and 30 Democrats aiming to address the national debt.
“Republicans don’t get a pass either,” Arrington said. “We’ve waived budget points of order. We’ve waived spending caps before … I think the Democrats are more of the profligate spenders, but it doesn’t mean that we’ve been, you know, rock solid, in terms of our fiscal responsibility.”
The House Budget Committee is likely to have a bigger role in the 118th Congress after McCarthy and a group of hard-line conservatives reached an agreement to set overall discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2024 at fiscal year 2022 levels, and will aim for spending cuts.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a McCarthy detractor involved with negotiating the deal, said on CNN Sunday that the agreement reached did not include cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and that they are “not going to touch” those entitlements.
Arrington said he suspected a bipartisan deal would eventually be cut to reform entitlement programs.
“The rubber will meet the road with the real decisions about bending the curve on spending and reforming programs. But that’s something I’m going to do with each and every authorizer and appropriator,” Arrington said.
“I’m going to work with every individual to see how far we can stretch responsibly to start doing right by, quite frankly, our children. Because they’re going there they will inherit a disaster, which is an understatement, if this thing goes south,” he added.
Small Business: Rep. Roger Williams (Texas)
The House GOP Steering Committee officially selected Williams to chair the Small Business Committee on Monday evening. It was the only uncontested committee chairmanship yet to be formalized by the Steering Committee, after it made selections for all other uncontested gavels in December. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) did not seek another term to chair the panel.
Education and the Workforce: Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.)
Republicans are renaming the panel that Democrats called the Committee on Education and Labor.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.) was granted a waiver from the steering committee to run for the gavel again. House GOP Conference Rules allow members to serve only three consecutive terms as head of a panel, and Foxx finished up her third term as the top Republican on the panel at the end of the last Congress.
Her office confirmed that the GOP Steering Committee selected her for a fourth term to lead Republicans on the panel.
Challenging Foxx for the seat was Tim Walberg (Mich.).
Ways and Means: Rep. Jason Smith (Mo.)
A three-way race for the powerful tax-writing committee emerged after longtime former Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) retired.
In addition to Jason Smith, Reps. Vern Buchanan (Fla.), and Adrian Smith (Neb.) sought the seat.
Adrian Smith was the lowest vote-getter on the first ballot, and the panel went to a second round of voting to decide between Buchanan and Jason Smith, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) confirmed.
Jason Smith is a close McCarthy ally, and had been in negotiations last week to strike a deal with the hardline conservatives for Speaker. He opted against a potential run for Senate in the 2022 cycle as he announced a bid for the powerful chairmanship.
In a statement, Smith said the panel will “build on the success of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and examine how our policies can reward working families with a tax code that delivers better jobs, higher wages, and more investment in America,” as well as examine tax benefits for “corporations that have shed their American identity in favor of a relationship with China.”
“We will examine using both trade policy and our tax code to re-shore and strengthen our supply chains, where products and services vital to our national security are made here at home using American labor, as well as craft policies that help America achieve food and medical security rather than dependence on nations like China,” Smith continued. “We must also look at ways to encourage domestic energy production and achieve energy independence through the tax code instead of using it as a tool to punish energy producers as President Biden has suggested.”
Adrian Smith congratulated Jason Smith in a statement, and thanked his colleagues and his families for their support.
“Jason’s success means success for the entire Conference and – even more importantly – for the American people,” Adrian Smith said.
Encouraging!
Please pray for them.
I’m stunned we chose a person who’s going to be 80 to run education. My gosh will she even remember being in school. This was a bad pick. Should have picked a house member in their 30’s who probably didn’t go to a one room school house and use a quill pen. Very disappointing and stupid!
Eliminate Department of Education. The Feds should not be tinkering with education. Education is a local responsibility.
I can see your point. OTOH, having an older person in there maybe they can steer education back to “the good old days” before new math and woke curriculum.
Or, better yet: “Ya know, when I was in grade school the Federal Government wasn’t involved in my education. All of those decisions were made locally. As of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow I am dissolving the Department of Education. The firearms issued to the various enforcement officers of the department will be transferred to the Border Patrol.”
If she literally did that. I’d be happy. But I am not sure she will.
Jason Smith (R-MO) seems to be the most conservative of the four mentioned. The other three are all moderates.
I too was thinking... 80... well putting the greatest generation back in charge may not be a bad thing for edjumication. My sweet dear hard assed mother would do a load better than these soft pansies in charge today. God help the people that cross an old lady that has a DGAF attitude and a mission to help kids succeed.
Several years ago we took our kids to the east coast and saw the sites and history. NYC were Washington was inaugurated. Independence Hall, Valley Forge, etc.
Then onto Washington D.C. Walking by this huge building - a block square in size and probably 5 stories or so. Get to the sign and it says “Department of Agriculture”.
“So kids, a question. Do you think that George Washington or Ben Franklyn or Thomas Jefferson ever envisioned a building of this size, filled with thousands of people whose purpose in life was to tell farmers how to farm?”
If not already, all of them will magically become millionaires and billionaires very quickly.
I get your point. But I looked at it another way. People in their 70’s and &0’s made the mess to begin with. Now we’re rewarding for bad behavior.
Agree, 100%!
Something like this:
An email the first hour of the first day to All DOE employees (4,400).
Notice: Please be advised that starting in 90 days staffing at the DOE will be reduced by attrition and terminations at the rate of 209 per month. By the 24th month, I will terminate myself and will lock the door on the way out thus ending the tragic history of Jimmy Carters Department of Education. The annual budget of 68 billion can be applied to the National Debt.
Gates&Boebert- 2024!
“So kids, a question. Do you think that George Washington or Ben Franklyn or Thomas Jefferson ever envisioned a building of this size, filled with thousands of people whose purpose in life was to tell farmers how to farm?”
I used to work just down the block from there. I remember getting off the Metro station and passing by the homeless sleeping over the street grates, which were blowing hot air exhaust.
That Depends™
“I’m stunned we chose a person who’s going to be 80 to run education. My gosh will she even remember being in school. This was a bad pick. Should have picked a house member in their 30’s who probably didn’t go to a one room school house and use a quill pen. “
I suspect the old one room school houses provided students with a better education in reading, writing, arithmetic, and American history/government than the progressive schools today’s woke 30-40 year olds were educated in.
You might want to look at Virginia Foxx’s background. She came from a poor family and worked as a janitor during high school. She has earned masters and doctoral degrees in education. She taught English and was president of a community college from 1987 to 1994. She has extensive experience working in education and is much more knowledgable than most Republicans in Congress.
She was a very strong supporter of President Trump.
Her committee is also responsible for labor issues. She and her husband owned a small business in North Carolina so she does have experience in the business world operating a labor intensive small business. She is strongly anti-union. Again, she has practical experience. Would you prefer a Congressman in his/her 30’s who graduated from law school to enter politics and has never worked in the private sector?
Consider also Virginia Foxx is only 4 years older than Donald Trump. If you support Trump for reelection in 2024, note he will be 80 years old midway in his term if elected. Why should age exclude Virginia Foxx from serving as chairman of a House committee if the same age doesn’t preclude Donald Trump from running for a second term as president?
Virginia Foxx is my representative in Congress. She is more conservative philosophically than most GOP establishment Congressmen, though she will loyally vote with party leadership in critical votes. While I have differences of opinion with some of her votes, she is very capable of chairing a committee and will do a much better job chairing this committee than many much younger men who have zero experience as an educator or businessperson.
If you have concerns about her mental acuity, I suggest you look up some of her recent speeches on YouTube. Here’s a link to a speech she made three months ago, on higher education, to the American Enterprise Institute. She speaks to the policies she favors for higher education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLuAPphsXhc
I would rather have a tough 80 year old with a sharp mind, fighting spirit, and strong conservative philosophically heading a committee than a squishy, political ambitious 35 years old lawyer attempting find a middle ground with the Democrats on the committee.
Eliminating the dept of ed in addition to several other govt departments would be a start....and only a start
Virginia Foxx - bttt
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