Republicans and Democrats Complete Appointments of 113th Congress House Committee Leaders

Republicans and Democrats have, for the most part, completed the task of assigning top House committee leadership rolls for the 113th Congress that begins on January 3.  Below is an alphabetical listing of U.S. House Committees and their newly-ratified Republican committee chairs and Democratic ranking members.  Each committee is accompanied by a link to the committee's internet home page.

On the Republican side, there will be seven newly appointed chairs (new committee leaders are marked with an asterisk). Thirteen other chairpersons will be returning to the same lead committee position that they currently hold in the 112th Congress.  The returning chairmen of five committees represent districts within the Mississippi River Basin: Agriculture (Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3)), Appropriations (Harold Rogers (R-KY-5)), Budget (Paul D. Ryan (R-WI-1)), Education and the Workforce (John Kline (R-MN-2)), and Small Business (Sam Graves (R-MO-6)).

House committee ranking members elected by the Democratic Steering Committee include four members newly appointed to leadership positions: Nita Lowey (D-NY-18), the first woman to hold a leadership spot on the powerful Appropriations panel; Maxine Waters (D-CA), Financial Services, Elliot Engel (D-NY-17), Foreign Affairs, and Michael Michaud (D-ME-2).  Most ranking members in the 113th Congress will retain the top positions held in the 112th.  From a natural resources perspective, key returning ranking members include Colin Peterson (D-MN-7), Agriculture; Henry Waxman (D-CA), Energy and Commerce; Ed Markey (D-MA-7), Natural Resources; Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30), Science; and Nick Rahall II (D-WV-3), Transportation and Infrastructure.

The ranking members of three committees represent districts within the Mississippi River Basin: Agriculture (Colin Peterson (D-MN-7)), Homeland Security (Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2)), and Transportation and Infrastructure (Nick Rahall II (D-WV-3)).

One committee chair (Ethics) has yet to be named.  That position is largely seen as one of the more thankless committee head slots, since it involves leading investigations into the activity of fellow House colleagues.

• Agriculture:  Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3) and Colin Peterson (D-MN-7)
• Appropriations:  Harold Rogers (R-KY-5) and Nita Lowey (D-NY-18)*
• Armed Services:  Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA-25) and Adam Smith (D-WA-9)
• Budget:  Paul D. Ryan (R-WI-1) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8)
• Education and the Workforce:  John Kline (R-MN-2) and George Miller (D-CA-7)
• Energy and Commerce:  Fred Upton (R-MI-6) and Henry Waxman (D-CA-30)
• Ethics:  To be announced and Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39)
• Financial Services:  Jeb Hensarling (R-TX-5)* and Maxine Waters (D-CA-35)*
• Foreign Affairs:  Ed Royce (R-CA-40)* and Elliot Engel (D-NY-17)*
• Homeland Security:  Michael McCaul (R-TX-10)* and Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2)
• House Administration:  Candice Miller (R-MI-10)* and Robert Brady (D-PA-1)
• Intelligence:  Mike Rogers (R-MI-8) and C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger (D-MD-2)
• Judiciary:  Robert W. Goodlatte (R-VA-6)* and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI-14)
• Natural Resources:  Doc Hastings (R-WA-4) and Ed Markey (D-MA-7)
• Oversight and Government Reform:  Darrell Issa (R-CA-49) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD-7)
• Rules:  Pete Sessions (R-TX-32) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28)
• Science, Space, and Technology:  Lamar Smith (R-TX-21)* and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30)
• Small Business:  Sam Graves (R-MO-6) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-12)
• Transportation and Infrastructure:  Bill Shuster (R-PA-9)* and Nick Rahall II (D-WV-3)
• Veterans’ Affairs:  Jeff Miller (R-FL-1) and Michael Michaud (D-ME-2)*
• Ways and Means:  Dave Camp (R-MI-4) and Sander Levin (D-MI-12)