House Republicans’ new committee leadership roster will slightly increase the number of women in chair positions.
Female representation atop House committees will increase by one in January with Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) leading the Education and the Workforce Committee and Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) at the Ethics Committee.
Currently only one woman, Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) at the Administration Committee, chairs a House panel. But she is retiring at the end of this year, leaving House Republicans without any returning female chairwomen.
{mosads}At the same time, there will still not be a racial minority chairing any of the 22 House committees.
Texas will have significant representation among House committee chairmen, with seven lawmakers hailing from the state atop major panels. Those committees include the Rules, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Armed Services, Ways and Means, Science and Financial Services committees.
Only a handful of committee gavels were vacant for the new Congress.
The most competitive race was for the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, where incumbent chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is term-limited.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who chaired the House GOP campaign arm for the last two election cycles, won the Steering Committee’s recommendation to chair the Energy and Commerce panel.
Walden will be responsible for major legislation in the new Congress, including the efforts to repeal and replace the healthcare law.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), who ran unopposed, secured an influential post to chair the House Appropriations Committee. The current chairman, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), was also term-limited but had planned to seek Frelinghuysen’s subcommittee chairmanship overseeing defense programs.
Miller, meanwhile, will be replaced by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) to chair the House Administration Committee.
In addition, the House Veterans Affairs Committee will be chaired by Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) to succeed retiring chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.).
House Republicans will have to choose at least one new committee chairman in the next Congress. House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Price would step down once he is confirmed by the Senate, which could happen as soon as January.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, has also been mentioned as a potential Trump Cabinet pick, possibly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Here’s a full list of House committee chairs for the 115th Congress:
Agriculture: Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
Appropriations: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)
Armed Services: Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas)
Budget: Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)
Education and the Workforce: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.)
Energy and Commerce: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.)
Financial Services: Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)
Foreign Affairs: Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.)
Homeland Security: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)
Judiciary: Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
Natural Resources: Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah)
Oversight and Government Reform: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)
Science, Space, and Technology: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)
Small Business: Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio)
Transportation and Infrastructure: Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Veterans Affairs: Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.)
Ways and Means: Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
Administration: Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.)
Ethics: Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.)
Joint Economic Committee: Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio)
Intelligence: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)
Rules: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)