Speaker Mike Johnson has gotten past his floor election, but he has a number of critical decisions to make in the next few days.
Speaker-appointed committees. Johnson still hasn’t announced who’ll chair or serve on the House Intelligence and Rules committees. The speaker has unilateral authority to appoint members and chairs to both panels.
Rules is a vital choice for Johnson. Johnson wants a woman to lead the panel, sources told us. The GOP hasn’t ever had a woman running the committee, which controls what legislation comes to the floor and how it’s considered. Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) appear to be the top two contenders. Foxx is a steady hand who inspires respect — fear even — in the heart of Republicans. Fischbach is in her third term in the House and has drawn some short straws during that tenure — the Rules and Ethics committees. Typically speakers reward this type of arduous service. Fischbach has also been the lieutenant governor of Minnesota and president of the state senate.
The big question for Johnson is over booting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) from the panel. Massie and Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) have all stymied the speaker’s priorities on the Rules Committee and limited Johnson’s ability to bring legislation to the floor. Massie himself has floated stepping off the committee. Some in the senior House GOP ranks have suggested replacing Massie with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Some inside the House GOP Conference have talked for months about Johnson replacing Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as chair of Intel. House Republican leadership insiders don’t believe Johnson will do this, and we’ve gotten strong pushback from Turner’s allies for even mentioning this chatter. Turner is slated to attend a session this weekend for House chairs with President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago. Turner has been told he needs to improve his relationship with Trump world, sources told us.
There are also a number of seats open on Intel that Johnson will have to fill. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), a member of leadership, is among those making a run at Intel.
Johnson declined to comment on his decisions on Intel and Rules on Monday. But he said he’d make these decisions in the early part of this week.
Select committees. Johnson is also being lobbied to create several select committees. There’s no urgency or timeline for Johnson to act here, and we’re told the speaker is focused on filling out the standing committees first. Still, it’s something being put on his radar.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) has been pushing Johnson hard on a select committee to combat Mexican drug cartels. Crenshaw led a task force on the subject last Congress but has argued he needs a dedicated staff and more centralized jurisdiction to really address the issue.
We’re told Crenshaw also pitched the idea at Saturday’s off-campus retreat during a session with Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, who said it was an interesting idea. Johnson has been non-committal so far.
Meanwhile, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) is advocating for a select committee for all the GOP’s investigations related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Loudermilk had already used his House Administration subcommittee to delve into the topic. But with Trump coming back into office and vowing political retribution over the issue, it’s clear Republicans want to keep investigating the investigators.
