House committee chairs all men
At the top of House committees, it’s a man’s world.
Not a single woman will lead any of the major House committees in the 113th Congress.
Continue ReadingAfter a day of meetings closed to the public, the House Republican Steering Committee announced an all-male slate of committee chairs, including 12 returning lawmakers who will head up some of the most important panels in Washington. The chairs for the House Ethics Committee and House Administration Committee have yet to be chosen, so a woman could end up in one of those slots.
(PHOTOS: Meet Boehner's committee chairmen)
The top female contender to lead a major committee was Michigan Rep. Candice Miller, who lost a battle for the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee to Texas Rep. Mike McCaul.
Women did make big gains in Republican leadership. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will be House Republican Conference chairwoman, Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins will be her vice chairwoman and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx will be conference secretary. The freshman representative in leadership will be Missouri Rep.-elect Ann Wagner, who took Rep. Todd Akin’s seat.
New chairmen include Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas atop Financial Services, Ed Royce of California on Foreign Affairs, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia on Judiciary, Lamar Smith of Texas on the Science, Space and Technology Committee and Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania atop Transportation and Infrastructure.
(Also on POLITICO: Men still dominate GOP leadership)
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was the only lawmaker to obtain a waiver to bypass House GOP rules to remain as a chairman for a fourth term. He will lead the Budget Committee again.
House Democrats are likely to have five women as ranking members committees: Rep. Nita Lowey (N.Y.) or Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) on Appropriations, Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) on Financial Services, Rep. Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) on Rules, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) on Science and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) on Small Business.
Readers' Comments (285)
Hey, be glad the Republicans even let women run for Congress!
Doesn't matter who gets sent to congress when the old boys club keeps a firm grasp on power.
They still don't get it do they?
GOOD!
Isn't President Obama also a man? What does that mean?
Should we have voted for Hillary in 2008? Can Hillary balance a budget?
For republicans, the women... I mean, the gals... are just keeping the seats warm until they can get a real (male) republican elected
So!?
Good, as we've seen with the entirety of the MESS Obama calls a "cabinet," from Jan "Big Sis" Nappy to the EPA chief, it's time for competence, NOT "gender politics," {or race} politics - the specialty of the disaster called the "National Socialist Democrat Union Workers Party," aka the "DAZIS."
who cares? racial and sexual bean counting is so yesterday.
Ummmm.... yes, he is. That means he is comfortable having powerful women work with and for him. The means he appoints two women to the Supreme Court. He appoints a woman to be Secretary of State. He appoints a woman to be the UN ambassador. He married a woman who is probably smarter than himself, and has no problem letting people know that.
What is your point?
Hey, be glad the GOP overwhelmingly pushed to give women the right to vote and freed the blacks. If Dems had their way, blacks still would be shackled in the fields instead of presiding over the White House, and women would be scrubbing floors for their abusive, alcoholic hubbies. But, that counts as "progress" for Dems.
I'm sick of the constant labeling -- what's in their pants, what color is their skin, do they like to sleep with boys or girls, American hyphen this and that. Enough already. Both Pelosi and Reid are complete morons, but not because of what's between their legs -- it's their brains that are the problems. Same with Republicans. All politicans are a joke now. I think the last two nominations to the Supreme Court were soley based on their sex, not their qualifications. Let's stop it already.
Obviously, the point is only sexist bigots have a problem with men chairing House committees. After all, it's incredibly sexist and bigoted to suggest men are inferior than women simply because they are men or even to suggest it is wrong for men to lead committees -- even all of them.
Good! This country went downhill starting right after women got the vote.
If you think women make good decisions, take one to the race track, sometime. Try to keep your lunch down when she says, "Ooooh! There's a pretty one!"
REALLY?!! As a woman i dont really care if there is woman on any committees or not. I personally think that a man can do just as a corrupt job as a woman with less estrogen.
REALLY?!! As a woman i dont really care if there is woman on any committees or not. I personally think that a man can do just as a corrupt job as a woman with less estrogen.
Why is the country so hung up on factions now? All we heard out of the election and the post election blather is pandering to one group or another. How about thinking as AMERICANS and what's best for the country instead of just what's best for our gender, our ethnicity, our sexual preference, our religion, etc? How about voting based on what's best for the nation too instead of just gathering acorns into our own group's tree? This article just furthers the division and factionalizing of America into groups. This isn't healthy for the country or its unity. So what if all the House Committee Chairs are men? Does this really impact anyone's life for the negative? But pitting women against men, whites against blacks or Hispanics. gays against straights, does impact us all negatively if the result is we become a factionalized country.
Who cares? Must mean they don't use affirmative action to appoint committee chairs, must be nice.
REALLY?!! As a woman i dont really care if there is woman on any committees or not. I personally think that a man can do just as a corrupt job as a woman with less estrogen.
Why is the country so hung up on factions now? All we heard out of the election and the post election blather is pandering to one group or another. How about thinking as AMERICANS and what's best for the country instead of just what's best for our gender, our ethnicity, our sexual preference, our religion, etc? How about voting based on what's best for the nation too instead of just gathering acorns into our own group's tree? This article just furthers the division and factionalizing of America into groups. This isn't healthy for the country or its unity. So what if all the House Committee Chairs are men? Does this really impact anyone's life for the negative? But pitting women against men, whites against blacks or Hispanics. gays against straights, does impact us all negatively if the result is we become a factionalized country.
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