Speaker Johnson faces 'complicated' decision on crucial Rules Committee chair

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is barreling into a tricky — yet critical — decision over whom to appoint as the next chair of the House Rules Committee, a post that will set the tone for legislating and play a key role in keeping Republicans united in next year’s ultrathin majority.

At least four Republicans — Reps. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Chip Roy (Texas), Michelle Fischbach (Minn.) and Pete Sessions (Texas) — have expressed interest in the role, which Johnson as Speaker has the responsibility to appoint. Johnson predicted he will make a decision over the holidays and announce the new chair early next year.

With little time left to choose, several factors are playing into Johnson’s selection — including gender, political ideology and seniority — creating a complex path for the Speaker as he looks to make one of his first big moves for the 119th Congress.

“It’s very complicated,” Johnson told The Hill of his decision.

The Rules Committee is often at the center of legislative battles on Capitol Hill, being the last stop for controversial bills before they hit the House floor and deciding which amendments receive votes. The chair oversees that process, acting as a close ally of leadership.

The front-runner in the race for top Republican on the panel appears to be Foxx, the outgoing chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and a senior member of the House Republican conference. The North Carolina lawmaker, known for her no-nonsense demeanor, told The Hill she informed Johnson about her interest, and he had a “positive” reception.

Foxx, who is coming up on her 20th year in the House, touted herself as the most experienced member to lead the panel, pointing to her past years sitting on the Rules Committee.

“I didn’t make too strong a pitch,” Foxx said of her conversations with the Speaker, “but I served on the Rules for either eight or 10 years, and I think I could do a good job.”

“There are other people who I know are running for it, but nobody has the experience that I have, except Pete Sessions” she added. “I just think I could do a good job.”

But Roy, the hard-line conservative and Freedom Caucus member who has very publicly bucked GOP leadership, is also seeking the position, and he told The Hill he has talked to Johnson about his interest.

“I do a lot of work from the perch of the Rules Committee, trying to figure out how to build rules and doing that anyway. And I feel like I just do it better as the chairman,” Roy said.

“As tight as this, as this house is again … there's going to be work on the floor, right? So we want to get the work done ahead of time,” Roy added. “That's why I think the Rules Committee is important. I think if you've got the right mix in there, the right chairman, you can figure out how to get stuff done.”

Roy joined the Rules Committee in January 2023 as the result of a deal struck during former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) drawn-out Speaker election that placed three hard-line conservatives on the panel, giving them the power to join with Democrats to tank or block legislation before it reaches the floor.

Republican members who spoke to The Hill view Roy’s bid as a long shot, given his numerous instances of bucking GOP leadership on the House floor and in public comments. His selection could, however, help Johnson stay in the good graces of hard-line conservatives, whom he needs support from to win the Speakership come January, two facts that are setting up a push-and-pull for the Speaker.

Roy, though, has voted against procedural rules — legislation designed by the Rules Committee that governs how legislation is considered on the House Floor — despite being on the Rules panel. The votes are normally partisan tests of party loyalty, but they have been used by conservatives to protest policy numerous times over the last two years — at times, bringing legislative activity to a halt.

Roy told The Hill he would not vote against rules if he becomes chair, however.

“If I was the Rules Committee chairman, there's no question that I'd have to support the rule,” Roy said.

Though the decision on the chairman rests with Johnson, Roy has reached out to the leaders of the top House GOP caucuses about his interest in the position, two sources told The Hill. Roy said he has gotten “a lot of good reception” across the conference.

Roy got one public endorsement from a fellow Texan Republican, Rep. John Carter, who posted on the social platform X that Roy “will build the conservative coalition in the House needed to support President Trump’s priorities as Rule Committee chairman.”

Fischbach, meanwhile, has been an under-the-radar Republican seeking the position. The Minnesota lawmaker — who is the second-most senior current Republican member on the committee — first came to Congress in 2021 and scored a spot on the Rules Committee that year, maintaining her seat two years later.

Now, she wants a shot at leading the group.

“I want to make sure that what we need to get done gets through and to the floor,” Fishbach told The Hill, noting she has managed rules on the floor. “I feel like I am qualified to step up to chair.”

Fishbach noted the dynamic on the Rules panel will be much different next year when Republicans take trifecta control in Washington, with President-elect Trump heading back to the White House.

“It's not necessarily just our agenda anymore,” Fishbach said. “It’s the Senate, it’s the President's agenda that we're working on, and so we need to make sure that we're working together to get it through.”

Finally, Sessions — who chaired the committee from 2013-18  — is considered a dark horse candidate to reprise the role. But Sessions says his experience dealing with Freedom Caucus cofounders like former Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) would help him in the role.

“It took a good bit of time to not just listen to them, but to work through the intricacies of how we would help make them successful,” Sessions said.

Sessions, who said he talked to Johnson about his interest in the position a few weeks ago, also noted he changed the five-minute rule to allow members to speak for as long as they want during the committee meetings, contributing to its famously long and thorough meetings.

Another potential contender for the gavel was Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), who also sits on the committee, according to one source. But Reschenthaler opted to remain chief deputy whip rather than seek the Rules Committee gavel.

Johnson told The Hill he has not made a decision on Rules Committee chair because he has been bogged down with other matters on Capitol Hill, including government funding, the annual defense policy bill and preparing for the incoming Trump administration and GOP trifecta.

“I’m not favoring anybody yet,” he said of his choices. “I have so many decisions to make every day, I’ve been pushing Rules off.”

But the delay also comes as he has to consider a number of sensitive factors playing into his high-profile selection, including gender. House Republicans are poised to have no female committee chairs in the 119th Congress after Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) lost to Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla) in the race to be chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Wagner was the only woman vying for a top committee job.

That dynamic could benefit Foxx or Fischbach who, if selected as Rules chair, would dispel the appearance of an all-male committee chair roster. Johnson, for his part, hinted at a potential female selection earlier this week when asked about the absence of any women in top committee posts.

“We haven't decided all the committee chairs yet, as you know, so we'll see how this shakes out,” Johnson told reporters. “Stay tuned on the final composition conference chairs.”

The Rules Committee chair choice is likely to come soon after the new Congress convenes.

As Republicans await Johnson’s decision, Democrats are standing by to see who will be leading the pack on the panel that handles legislation before it hits the House floor. Asked about Foxx and Roy seeking the position, Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), a longtime member of the Rules Committee and currently the top Democrat on the panel, let out a laugh.

“There’s an old Chinese curse, may you live in interesting times,” McGovern said. “And I think we’ve been cursed.”