Boehner rebels replaced on committee

Two Republicans who were booted from the House Rules Committee after opposing Rep. John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) reelection as Speaker have officially been replaced.

The Speaker is filling the two empty seats on the panel with Reps. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), the committee announced Tuesday. 

{mosads}The slots had been vacant since January, when Florida Republican Reps. Daniel Webster and Richard Nugent received notification that they had been kicked off the committee, apparently in retribution for voting against Boehner for Speaker.

Webster ran as a long-shot candidate for Speaker and won votes from 12 fellow Republicans, including from Nugent.

Their seats had remained empty for the last three months of Rules Committee hearings. With the appointments of Byrne and Newhouse, Republicans now hold nine seats on the panel, compared with the Democrats’ four.

Byrne has served in the House since winning a 2013 special election, while Newhouse is a freshman elected in 2014.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the chairman of the committee, called Byrne a “friend” who is “is deeply devoted to causes he believes in” and praised Newhouse as having “extensive knowledge of agricultural issues that affect farmers and growers all over America.”

The Rules Committee controls how bills are considered on the House floor, including the amount of debate time and what amendments will receive votes.

The Speaker directly appoints majority-party members of the committee, and the lawmakers selected are expected to be loyal to leadership. Votes on the panel almost always fall along party lines.