First blood for the McCarthy rebels? Republican Freedom Caucus member Mark Green beats Dan Crenshaw to become chairman of coveted Homeland Security Committee – and promises to keep permanent staff at the border
- Both Reps. Both Green and Crenshaw endorsed Kevin McCarthy on every speaker vote
- Green would be the second Freedom Caucus member with a committee gavel
- Rep. Jim Jordan, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, chairs the Judiciary Committee
In what could be a sign of the Conservatives’ newly expanded hold on the House GOP, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Green won the top spot on the Homeland Security Committee over Republican star Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
Green was elected by the Republican Steering Committee of the House of Representatives to chair the body that has oversight functions over the Department of Homeland Security, including the Southwest border.
Both he and Crenshaw – each a supporter of new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – had signaled they would take a hard line on the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border.
Green pledged that the committee would hire at least one staffer permanently stationed at the border under his supervision to work with Customs and Border Protection and other relevant groups.
Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, a retired Army veteran, was elected chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in the 118th Congress
He beat fellow veteran Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and former Navy SEAL
He was chosen over Crenshaw, a military veteran who has made a name for himself and represents his party on mainstream media networks such as CNN and Fox News, among others.
McCarthy reportedly pledged to boost representation of the far-right Freedom Caucus at the top level as part of a deal he struck with 20 conservative holdouts to win the gavel.
The grueling negotiations lasted four days and involved 15 rounds of voting.
Green, who has supported McCarthy throughout, is the second member of the Freedom Caucus to serve as a committee chair, after Jim Jordan, Speaker of the House of Representatives for Judiciary.
He said in a statement after the GOP speaker won the top spot in the House, “I was with Jim Jordan and most of the members of the Freedom Caucus voting for our conference nominee Kevin McCarthy to speak. Just as I supported our Republican nominee Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, I am supporting our Republican nominee here.”
New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reportedly promised to expand the House Freedom Caucus’ presence on committees in exchange for winning the gavel
Crenshaw was also a vocal supporter of McCarthy, going so far as to label the 20 lawmakers who blocked the vote as “terrorists” and “charlatans.”
He went back to the former label during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.
But the Conservatives like Green, who backed McCarthy, aren’t the only ones being credited for helping him win the Hammer.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who first endorsed McCarthy before voting against him in several rounds and then tipped again on the final stretch, announced Sunday that his vote has earned him a coveted spot on the Republican steering committee.
The critical panel is responsible for assigning committee posts to other GOP legislators.
“Part of that will be making sure that the whole conference, the ideological spectrum if you will, is represented on all the committees,” Donalds told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
Other concessions McCarthy agreed also had the potential to empower hardliners in his conference.
For example, he agreed to lower the threshold for an eviction request to just one person – meaning a single lawmaker can trigger a Housewide vote to elect a new speaker.
Grassroots lawmakers will also be able to freely propose amendments to budget bills on House floor.
Regarding the debt ceiling that Congress must address this year or the global economy could be in turmoil, McCarthy vowed not to bring budget increases to the House without considering spending cuts to offset them.