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Talk of gavel-grabbing Republicans may be premature
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP May 20, 2010 01:13pm |
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| Category | Speculative |
| Author | JONATHAN ALLEN |
| News Date | Thursday, May 20, 2010 09:45:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Five months out from the November midterms, Republicans are positioning themselves for the committee chairmanships they’ll hold if they win back control of the House.
In Rep. Jack Kingston’s mind, it’s about time for Reps. Jerry Lewis and Joe Barton to step aside after three full terms as the top Republicans on the Appropriations and Energy and Commerce committees, respectively.
That would set the stage for intense internal fights in two of the most powerful committees in Congress — not to mention the possibility of a high-stakes battle by Lewis or Barton to hold power through a waiver of the term-limit rule or an outright change to it.
Barton told POLITICO earlier this year that the rules should be changed; under the current rules, he said, a ranking member has little incentive to work hard to win the majority if the member knows he or she will be term-limited out of a chairmanship anyway.
But lawmakers and aides note that the rules can be changed or waived at any time. And that ambiguity is advantageous to party leaders, who can expect potential candidates to show loyalty on votes and to raise money for colleagues as long as there’s hope that they’ll get something out of it. It also means the leaders can issue waivers to allies and get rid of rivals in a relatively short time span. |
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