House Republicans have tapped Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) to be chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, setting up an old bull appropriator with a history of earmarking to deliver on the anti-spending tea party platform that carried the GOP to victory this fall.

The House GOP Steering Committee selected him for the powerful position Tuesday. The entire Republican conference is expected to confirm his bid Wednesday.

Text Size

• -
• +
• reset

POLITICO 44

Rogers, a member of the appropriations panel since 1983, has been adept at securing earmarks for his district. In his bid for the chairmanship, he promised the GOP he’d overhaul the committee, ending the earmark process. He has vowed to strip funding for health care.

At the same time, Rogers has said he’s planning to immediately shake up the staff, cutting it by 20 percent. He’s also considering hiring a former lobbyist and vice president of Lockheed Martin, a major defense contractor, as staff director for the committee.

Rogers has promised to work with party leaders to slash discretionary spending to 2008 levels. He plans to devote one committee staffer to pore over spending bills to hunt down duplicative funding.

“The nation is in a fiscal crisis, and hard decisions are coming,” Rogers said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Leadership and my Republican colleagues in fighting for serious reforms of the Committee, bringing fiscal sanity back to our budgeting process, performing vigorous oversight of the failed job-creation policies of the Obama Administration and moving our nation forward."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blasted an email soon after the announcement, mocking the GOP’s choice of a known earmark expert as their pick to lead the fight to slash spending. The release calls Rogers the “Prince of Pork,” pointing out that the Kentucky congressman pulled in 135 earmarks at a cost of $246 million in the last two years, according to ABC News.

Rogers will also have to worry about his side of the aisle, particularly in bringing the new guard into the fold. He’ll need to appease conservative groups such as the Club for Growth, which backed Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) for the job.

“We are disappointed Rep. Kingston wasn't picked,” Club for Growth spokesman Mike Connolly said in a statement. “ But we hope and expect that Chairman Rogers will follow the lead of the American people expressed in last month's elections, toward a smaller, more transparent government.”

Incoming Speaker John Boehner says he expects his new chairmen will toe the party’s line on key policies, including spending cuts.

“The members of our new majority have made a pledge to America to focus on the American people's priorities - helping small businesses create jobs, cutting spending, repealing the job-killing health care law, protecting life, and reforming the way Congress works,” Boehnher said in a statement after the announcement of the new committee chairs. “Each of the candidates recommended by the Steering Committee today has committed to advancing these priorities if entrusted with the responsibility of serving the people of this nation as a committee chair. “

House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) also selected Rogers over Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), the current ranking member on the committee and its former chairman. The GOP would have had to waive term limits to allow him to serve.

"I sincerely appreciate the Steering Committee's careful deliberation throughout this process,” Lewis said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Chairman Rogers, my fellow committee members, our incoming freshman, and all members of the Conference to fulfill our pledge to cut spending, stop harmful government interference in our businesses, improve our economy and create jobs, and get our nation onto a sustainable and responsible fiscal path. We have a huge job ahead of us, and I know Chairman Rogers will work diligently to carry out the work the American people elected us to do."