House Republicans on Thursday officially selected Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) as the new chairman of the Armed Services Committee (HASC) and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) to lead the Appropriations Committee.
Rogers takes helm of HASC in the new Congress following two years as the panel’s ranking member, and is the first lawmaker from Alabama to lead the committee, according to his office.
“I am honored to have been selected by my House Republican colleagues to serve as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Our nation faces unprecedented threats from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. In order to deter these threats and remain the most feared force in the world — we must ensure that our military focuses on lethality and capability. Over the next two years, the House Armed Services Committee will provide our warfighters with the resources and weapons they need to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary anywhere in the world,” Rogers said in a statement.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who has held the HASC chair position since 2019, will now serve as the committee’s top Democrat in the ranking member role.
Rogers’ has been a strong proponent of increasing defense spending, and takes over as House GOP leadership has proposed capping fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending at FY ’22 enacted levels while pushing back on calls to cut defense funds.
His district is home to Anniston Army Depot and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base and it is not far from Fort Benning, Ga.
“Alabama has always played a critical role in supporting our national security. As the first Congressman from Alabama to serve as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I look forward to continuing that legacy,” Rogers said.
Granger will now serve as the House’s top appropriator after four years as the committee’s ranking member.
“As the committee responsible for federal funding, it’s our responsibility to reduce spending where we can and ensure that we prioritize resources on national security. As the former chair of the defense subcommittee and as someone who has thousands of service members and hundreds of defense contractors in my district, I know how important it is that we have a strong defense,” Granger said in a statement.
Granger represents Fort Worth, where Lockheed Martin [LMT] manufactures the F-35 and Bell [TXT] builds the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
“Chairwoman Granger is the first Republican woman to lead the Appropriations Committee and has a history of being a trailblazer, as she was the first woman to chair the Defense Subcommittee and serve as mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. With our Senate counterparts Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Appropriations Committee will be the first Committee led on all four corners by women. It is an honor to be part of this historic group,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who will now shift from the panel’s chair to ranking member role, said in a statement.