Pete King Heads New GOP Security Team
BY MICHAEL MCAULIFFDaily News
April 29, 2010
In the effort to be less the Party of No, and more the Party of Not So Fast Mr. President, Minority Leader John Boehner has tapped one of his more bi-partisan members, Long Island Rep. Pete King, to head a new GOP panel on national security.
King, for those who somehow missed it, was the first and loudest politician to slam the White House plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan, and we know how that’s turning out.
But King has also been quick to praise the President on some of his foreign policy initiatives, including ramping up the war in Afghanistan, giving him a credibility and authority on issues across party lines that is rare these days.
King, the top Republican of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will chair a new National Security Solutions Group, Boehner plans to announce today.
The idea behind the panel is to “hold the Obama administration accountable when it pursues misguided policies that make the American people less safe.”
It’s modeled on other House GOP Solutions Groups set up over the past year by deputy whip Kevin McCarthy to focus on things like economic recovery and energy reform.
“The world is growing more dangerous, not less so,” says Boehner. “When the President has made responsible decisions on Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans have stood by him and supported his efforts. However, when he has advocated policies that make America less safe - such as importing terrorists into the U.S., alienating our closest allies, and undermining our missile defense capabilities - we have listened to the American people, taken principled stands, and offered better solutions.”
“We must ensure that Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration do what is necessary to keep the nation secure, including properly funding our troops and keeping terrorists out of America,” says King.
Here are the other members of the panel:
Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Ranking Member, Committee on Armed Services; Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Ranking Member, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Ranking Member, Appropriations Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary; Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX); Rep. Charles Dent (R-PA); Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ); Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA); Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI); Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL); Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC); Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY); Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA); Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX); and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA).
Official announcement can be accessed by clicking here.