With the start of the 117th U.S. Congress, the House Energy and Commerce Republican Leader became Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who succeeded the now-retired Greg Walden.
Now, with the 118th Congress underway, Rodgers has risen to the top leadership position of the powerful committee that has oversight of the FCC on Capitol Hill.
On Wednesday, she welcomed nine new Members.
Rodgers named to the position of House E&C Committee Chair on Tuesday (1/10), revealed that the House Republican Steering Committee today selected the following Members to serve on Energy & Commerce:
- Randy Weber (R-TX)
- Rick Allen (R-GA)
- Troy Balderson (R-OH)
- Russ Fulcher (R-ID)
- August Pfluger (R-TX)
- Diana Harshbarger (R-TN)
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)
- Kat Cammack (R-FL)
- Jay Obernolte (R-CA)
The House Steering Committee is responsible for recommending Members to serve on standing Committees in the House of Representatives. The recommendations are subject to approval by the House Republican Conference.
McMorris Rodgers congratulated the new members of the House E&C Committee, saying all will add value to the GOP team.
She also used their naming to the Committee as another opportunity to share her viewpoints on Washington, D.C.’s political atmosphere today, and just how opposed to the White House McMorris Rodgers stands.
“Trust and confidence in representative government is broken, and the people have placed their trust in us to restore it,” she said. “Energy and Commerce is at the forefront of this mission, and I know each of these members will contribute to bringing back accountability and improving people’s lives. Americans are asking us to hold the line against Biden’s agenda with a different path that promotes free markets, innovation, free speech, and individual freedom. Energy and Commerce Republicans stand ready to plow the hard ground necessary to legislate, hold the Biden administration accountable, and restore American leadership.”
From healthcare to technology, the House E&C Committee, as Rodgers said two years ago, “is at the very center of the battles for freedom to stop socialism and for hope to beat fear.”
That firebrand attitude, as seen in her latest comments, has hardly ebbed for Rodgers, who represents Washington’s fifth district, which includes Spokane.
With Greg Walden’s retirement just announced, Rodgers first rose to prominence in December 2020, when she was selected to succeed him on the powerful committee.
While Rodgers considers herself to be a “pioneer, trailblazer, leader, working mom of three, wife, trust builder,” and an “ability advocate,” McMorris Rodgers’ track record includes becoming one of more than 200 House co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act. That’s the non-binding resolution that has successfully thwarted such legislation as the American Music Fairness Act — legislation actively supported by Texas’ Randy Weber on a consistent basis.
McMorris Rodgers is also the highest-ranking female Republican in the House of Representatives, and has been an outspoken voice against “net neutrality.”
With the FCC still at four Commissioners and the GOP now in control of the House of Representatives, Democrats who seek legislation bringing “net neutrality” to the U.S. have a mighty challenge ahead. So does President Biden, who renominated Gigi Sohn to fill the fifth seat with no guarantees Congress will say yes to the controversial choice.
It was McMorris Rodgers who, along with Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and fellow Ohio House Member Bill Johnson, sent a letter to President Biden in July 2022 urging him to make his Inspector General choice for the Commission; they noted that it was required by the RAY BAUM’S Act, enacted by former President Trump in March 2018.
Meanwhile, in November 2021 Latta and McMorris Rodgers fired off a strongly worded letter to now-former Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and then-Subcommittee Chairman Michael Doyle (D-Pa.) urging them to hold a Commission oversight hearing expressly to address the dollars going to the FCC. They slammed an “unprecedented influx of funding.”
Now that McMorris Rodgers is leading the House E&C Committee, look for the newly empowered Republican leadership to fight back against Democratic initiatives it finds out of sync with the nation’s needs.
“The American people are paying the price for it – at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office … accountability and oversight are also essential to getting answers from an administration gone woke and are foundational to our Constitutional responsibility. Our efforts will strengthen our policymaking and lead to lasting reforms.”
That said, McMorris Rodgers is committed “to find areas for common ground whenever possible,” and pledged this will not change. “Energy and Commerce has a rich history of building consensus to plow the hard ground necessary to legislate. That legacy will continue under my leadership.”
