Top Republican rebels vie for powerful committee positions backed by House leadership
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has emerged as a contender to be the next chairman of the House Rules Committee, an influential panel that is the majority before most bills receive a vote from the full House. The final gatekeeper of the bill.
“I’ll defer to the speaker,” Roy said this week when asked about the chairmanship of Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. “Obviously, I’ve put my name out there.”
That would be a stunning boost for a lawmaker who has been an outspoken critic of House leadership on some issues, particularly government spending.
More recently, however, the Republican rebel — and current policy chair of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus — has become known for being a conduit between Republican leaders and lawmakers who are often known to violate their directives.
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Rep. Chip Roy could run for House Rules Committee chairman ((Photo by Kevin Dickey/Getty Images))
Roy gained a seat on the House Rules Committee as part of a January 2023 deal with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., to expand conservative representation — an effort McCarthy made to win his short-lived tenure as House speaker. part of a broader compromise over the position.
The Texas Republican was not one of eight Republicans who later voted to oust McCarthy, despite McCarthy’s early criticism and even public skepticism of his colleagues’ decisions.
The House Rules Committee is the final stop for the bill before a vote in the House. The committee and its chairperson are responsible for stipulating the terms for debate on a bill and which amendments, if any, will also receive a vote.
After a bill passes the House Rules Committee, it will undergo a House-wide “rules vote” to debate the legislation before a final vote.
During his two years on the committee, Roy voted against several House rules, potentially putting his hopes for the position in jeopardy.
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The decision rests with House Speaker Mike Johnson (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
However, he has the support of multiple colleagues – Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital on Thursday, “He’s going to be great. I support him 100 percent.”
Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, wrote on X that Roe “will build the conservative coalition in the House needed to support President Trump’s priorities as chairman of the Rules Committee.”
But unlike other committees, whose chairs are chosen by a broader group of lawmakers, only the House speaker has a say on the House rules panel.
“I think it’s important to have a rules chair who will support the leadership no matter who he is,” one Republican congressman who spoke on condition of anonymity said of Roy’s campaign.
“The speaker is going to pass his agenda one way or another, so whoever he appoints, that’s going to be the deal. Because he can remove them and then replace them.”
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Current House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess will retire at the end of the year (Getty Images)
“He’s one of the smartest people who understands the process, but most people wouldn’t trust him in this role,” another Republican lawmaker said.
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Virginia Foxx, a registered nurse who currently chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, is also rumored to be vying for the position.
Current House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican, will retire at the end of the year.
