Republican Rep. Edward Royce of California is officially on his way to becoming the next chairman of the House committee that oversees U.S. foreign affairs.
Royce earned Nov. 27 the recommendation of the House Republican Steering Committee to replace Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida as head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was among 19 chairmen recommended by the steering committee, a 34-member group that includes House Speaker John Boehner, other Republican leaders, some panel chairs, and representatives from geographic regions and from the freshmen and sophomore House Republicans.
All House Republicans are set to vote on the steering committee’s recommendations, which also include retaining Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky as heads of the budget and appropriations panels, on Wednesday (Nov. 28). The steering committee’s selections are traditionally approved without challenges, as noted by the Boston Globe.
Royce’s name was first attached to the foreign affairs panel chairmanship shortly after the midterm election when he expressed his intention to seek the seat. He was backed by Ros-Lehtinen, who is forced by term limits to give up her post.
As Devex has reported, Royce has been fairly conservative on his views on U.S. foreign assistance as well as government spending. Notably, he has argued against continuing assistance to China and sending food aid to North Korea.
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