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My Citizen legislators, one of my followers on TikTok AionTeleos, would love to hear an episode on congressional committees, and what benefit Members of Congress get from those assignments. I agree! This is a great idea and timely!
We are now two weeks into the 118th Congress. The House and Senate were in recess this week.
Well as I can tell you from my time on Capitol Hill as a staffer, committee assignments are extremely important to Members of Congress. When my former boss, Congressman David Vitter (R-LA-1) ran for the open US Senate seat in Louisiana back in 2004 and won, we had to begin thinking about what committees he was to join in the Senate. Now a great deal of thought goes into securing plum committee assignments. Committee assignments can shape a Member’s tenure in Congress, and it can take some effort to secure a spot on a committee that deals with issues relevant to a Member of Congress District or State. Representatives seek posts on committees with jurisdiction in areas in which they have expertise or that support the interests of their districts and for Senators their states.
There are three types of committees in each chamber. Standing committees in the Senate and House are permanent and have a defined legislative jurisdiction under Senate Rule XXV or House Rule X, respectively.
Select and joint committees generally handle oversight or housekeeping responsibilities.
In both the House and Senate, no member may chair more than one standing committee. Republicans members in both chambers have imposed term limits on their committee and subcommittee leaders. Under the restrictions, committee or subcommittee leaders may not serve more than six years as leader.
Committee assignments were delayed due to the five days and 15 manual roll call votes on the election of a speaker. Committee assignments have been slowly trickling out to the public. The steering committee for each party makes assignments which in turn must be voted on by the Democratic Caucus or Republican Conference. Members are typically limited to service on two committees and four subcommittees, with exceptions for particular committees.
The Republican Steering Committee finalized committee assignments for the 118th Congress. I know y’all are curious as to how the 21 holdouts to Speaker McCarthy fared with their committee assignments, right? Scott Wong, a senior congressional reporter for NBC News and Kyle Stewart an associate producer covering Congress for NBC News delve into those committee assignments of the 21 holdouts. Let’s roll down that list and boy is it a list! Some of these holdouts received some plum committee assignments, others are still awaiting when they’ll know their committee assignments.
The Senate was still in recess but there were internal conversations with leadership about committees. That will be made public next week.
In addition to committee assignments, McCarthy had made other concessions to his right flank. He vowed that Freedom Caucus members would get three seats on the speaker-controlled Rules Committee, which decides exactly how bills are considered on the House floor.
Committee assignments are an important part of a Member of Congress, they will spend an enormous amount of time in committee hearings and markups. So, it's important to secure the committee assignment that is important to a district and state.
This was Topless Government, the government and politics show. If you enjoyed it, I would be pleased if you would subscribe, rate and review the show. We’re on YouTube and Facebook right now. Production is courtesy of Marcus Donovan, the Pasteurized Chief. You can check out his show – the District of Misfits Show – every Sunday evening. They go live at 10pm. This show is a District Dogface Studios Production.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my knowledge and love of politics. I look forward to geeking out with you again.
CRS IN FOCUS Report: Administration of the House of Representatives: Actions Taken During a New Congress and Following a Majority Change
About the US Senate Committee System | Committee Assignments
CRS Report: Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures
NBCNews.com: What the 21 McCarthy holdouts got in committee assignments
Congress.gov: Committees of the U.S. Congress
History.house.gov: Securing a Committee Assignment
My Citizen legislators, one of my followers on TikTok AionTeleos, would love to hear an episode on congressional committees, and what benefit Members of Congress get from those assignments. I agree! This is a great idea and timely!
We are now two weeks into the 118th Congress. The House and Senate were in recess this week.
Well as I can tell you from my time on Capitol Hill as a staffer, committee assignments are extremely important to Members of Congress. When my former boss, Congressman David Vitter (R-LA-1) ran for the open US Senate seat in Louisiana back in 2004 and won, we had to begin thinking about what committees he was to join in the Senate. Now a great deal of thought goes into securing plum committee assignments. Committee assignments can shape a Member’s tenure in Congress, and it can take some effort to secure a spot on a committee that deals with issues relevant to a Member of Congress District or State. Representatives seek posts on committees with jurisdiction in areas in which they have expertise or that support the interests of their districts and for Senators their states.
There are three types of committees in each chamber. Standing committees in the Senate and House are permanent and have a defined legislative jurisdiction under Senate Rule XXV or House Rule X, respectively.
Select and joint committees generally handle oversight or housekeeping responsibilities.
In both the House and Senate, no member may chair more than one standing committee. Republicans members in both chambers have imposed term limits on their committee and subcommittee leaders. Under the restrictions, committee or subcommittee leaders may not serve more than six years as leader.
Committee assignments were delayed due to the five days and 15 manual roll call votes on the election of a speaker. Committee assignments have been slowly trickling out to the public. The steering committee for each party makes assignments which in turn must be voted on by the Democratic Caucus or Republican Conference. Members are typically limited to service on two committees and four subcommittees, with exceptions for particular committees.
The Republican Steering Committee finalized committee assignments for the 118th Congress. I know y’all are curious as to how the 21 holdouts to Speaker McCarthy fared with their committee assignments, right? Scott Wong, a senior congressional reporter for NBC News and Kyle Stewart an associate producer covering Congress for NBC News delve into those committee assignments of the 21 holdouts. Let’s roll down that list and boy is it a list! Some of these holdouts received some plum committee assignments, others are still awaiting when they’ll know their committee assignments.
The Senate was still in recess but there were internal conversations with leadership about committees. That will be made public next week.
In addition to committee assignments, McCarthy had made other concessions to his right flank. He vowed that Freedom Caucus members would get three seats on the speaker-controlled Rules Committee, which decides exactly how bills are considered on the House floor.
Committee assignments are an important part of a Member of Congress, they will spend an enormous amount of time in committee hearings and markups. So, it's important to secure the committee assignment that is important to a district and state.
This was Topless Government, the government and politics show. If you enjoyed it, I would be pleased if you would subscribe, rate and review the show. We’re on YouTube and Facebook right now. Production is courtesy of Marcus Donovan, the Pasteurized Chief. You can check out his show – the District of Misfits Show – every Sunday evening. They go live at 10pm. This show is a District Dogface Studios Production.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my knowledge and love of politics. I look forward to geeking out with you again.
CRS IN FOCUS Report: Administration of the House of Representatives: Actions Taken During a New Congress and Following a Majority Change
About the US Senate Committee System | Committee Assignments
CRS Report: Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures
NBCNews.com: What the 21 McCarthy holdouts got in committee assignments
Congress.gov: Committees of the U.S. Congress
History.house.gov: Securing a Committee Assignment