After VA letdown, Minn. Dem may get Armed Services seat
Walz said he is “kicking around the idea of Armed Services” with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“That might be a great combination,” Walz told The Hill, noting that Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the head of the VA panel, also sits on Armed Services. “It’s that transition point from the services to the VA.”
{mosads}Such a move would require Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in congressional history, to drop one of his current assignments on the Agriculture and Transportation panels. House Democrats have an unofficial rule that members can only serve on two committees apiece.
The transition would also cap a roller coaster couple of days for Walz.
On Wednesday, the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee prevented Walz, who serves on the VA committee via waiver, from becoming a permanent member, citing his existing pair of panel assignments.
The decision snuffed out Walz’s bid for the top spot and left some uncertainty as to whether he would return to the VA panel in the next Congress.
The Steering and Policy panel then recommended Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) for the post, setting the stage for an up-or-down vote in the full caucus, which quickly approved her Wednesday afternoon.
After Brown was elected, Pelosi offered Walz a seat on the VA panel in the 114th Congress, a proposal he quickly accepted. It’s yet to be determined if that seat will be permanent or another waiver expiring at the end of 2016.
Pelosi also tasked him with chairing quarterly meetings with veterans service organizations.
On Thursday Walz was jubilant about the outcome.
“I have my apparently permanent seat at the very bottom of the dais. I said when I die they’re going to put a little plaque there,” he joked.
“In the long run the blessing is, it might be more effective doing this,” Walz added.
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