The House Republican Steering Committee will meet tonight to pick the next Homeland Security Committee chair to succeed Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who announced his resignation earlier this month.
There are four contenders for the gavel: GOP Reps. Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.), Michael Guest (Miss.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) and Clay Higgins (La.).
The main thing to know is that the Republican steering committee is a tool of the speaker. It’s been designed this way for decades. Speaker Mike Johnson has four of the 38 votes, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has two.
Overall, Louisiana controls seven votes. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) is also on the panel, giving the Bayou State an enormous voice.
Republicans on the steering committee look to Johnson to see which way he’s leaning, although he typically plays it close to the vest on these fights – or, worse, sends mixed signals. In December, Johnson sent mixed messages about who he wanted to be the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, leading to a tremendous amount of confusion. Johnson doesn’t like playing the heavy in these situations, although that’s what the panel wants.
This time around, Johnson has a more complicated challenge. All four candidates are popular in the conference. Garbarino is a close GOP leadership ally who is friends with Johnson and Scalise. Gimenez, a Cuban-born former mayor of Miami-Dade County, has powerful allies, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). Guest is chair of the Ethics Committee, an assignment that earns you chits in the House Republican Conference.
And, perhaps most notably, Higgins is a Louisianan vying for a chairmanship in a conference that is controlled by his two home-state allies – Johnson and Scalise.
That’s not the only complication. Picking Guest would mean Johnson has to tap a new chair of Ethics and a new member of the Appropriations Committee.
Most Republican insiders believe the race is truly between Gimenez and Garbarino, with Garbarino as a slight favorite. Garbarino is a member of Steering, so he understands how to work the room.
But let’s be honest. Everyone will be intently focused on Johnson. Anything he says or any look he gives could sway the race.
Here’s the breakdown of each candidate:
Garbarino. The New York Republican is seventh in seniority on the panel, but as we noted, he’s a strong leadership ally. Garbarino currently chairs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection subcommittee. Garbarino is running on his experience and knowledge of cybersecurity policy.
Guest. Guest has met with all members of GOP leadership and steering. Guest has emphasized his background as a state prosecutor and working in law enforcement before coming to Congress.
Guest is chair of the subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. He is No. 4 in seniority on the Homeland Security panel.
Gimenez. Gimenez wants to focus on “the rise of unmanned aerial systems” and improving the nation’s cyber systems from foreign adversaries’ attacks, according to his letter of intent.
The Florida Republican plans to highlight his experience as a firefighter and working in public safety, according to a person familiar with his plans.
Gimenez is fifth in seniority on Homeland. He’s chair of the Transportation and Maritime Security subcommittee.
Higgins. Higgins, the third-ranking member of the committee, would be favored by conservatives. Higgins is a controversial figure in the House Republican Conference. He once got physical with a protester outside the Capitol. He has also pushed the theory that the FBI was behind the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The new chair would spearhead much of the House Republicans’ border security and immigration agenda and be in charge of drafting a new version of H.R. 2, which we wrote about last week.
Johnson said he talked to all four candidates, but as we noted, there’s no endorsement yet.
“We have very highly qualified people who are willing to step up,” Johnson said. “There’s going to be quite a horse race there.”
