House GOP Steering Committee selects four members for new committee positions

The House Republican Steering Committee selected four lawmakers on Wednesday evening to fill committee seats negotiated between Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) following Republicans’ special election wins earlier this year. 

 The  31-member panel — which consists of top Republican lawmakers and is tasked with determining who is placed on certain committees  —  was able to place members on more senior committees than their previous assignments. 

The Steering members opted to place Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) on the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) was selected to serve on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) was appointed to the Homeland Security Committee and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) was selected to sit on the House Committee on Natural Resources.  

It’s unclear when the committee will select members to replace Rep. Steve Watkins (R-Kansas) on his committees in the wake of the embattled Kansas Republican’s recent announcement that he was temporarily stepping down from his committee posts after being charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor. Watkins maintains there was no wrongdoing. 

The committee seats Watkins previously sat on will temporarily remain vacant, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.