Sessions throws hat in ring for encore performance at Rules

Amid departures to fill Trump administration posts and leadership contests for top party positions, a more subtle competition for one of the most powerful positions in Congress is underway.

The House Rules Committee is the chamber’s “traffic cop” which determines the manner in which legislation comes to the floor and what amendments can be offered, if any. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, did not seek reelection and will depart at the end of the 118th Congress.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who chaired Rules from 2013 through 2018, wants to reclaim the gavel, according to his staff, although there are at least four other contenders for the position, including three from the current Rules lineup.

Sessions, 69, is a House Republican loyalist who was first elected in 1996 and served on Rules for 20 years. Sessions was known for eliminating time limits for members to address the panel, which led to long meetings.

In 2018, Sessions lost his reelection bid to Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, but returned to the chamber after the 2020 elections representing Texas’ 17th District, about 100 miles away from his previous seat.

He is staunch ally of President-elect Donald Trump; he voted against Trump’s impeachment in 2021 and was one of 147 House members to vote to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Sessions served as National Republican Congressional Committee chairman from 2009 to 2013. He initially ran for House majority leader in 2014, but ultimately withdrew, allowing former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to claim the title. Last year, Sessions unsuccessfully ran for speaker following McCarthy’s ouster.

Although not currently on the panel, Sessions’ 20 years of experience on Rules are unmatched by any other contender for the spot, making him a formidable candidate.

Unlike other committees, GOP conference rules imposing six-year limitations on members serving as the top Republican on a panel don’t typically apply. Rules members and the panel’s chair are appointed by the speaker; technically they are subject to approval by the full conference, but that’s considered a formality.

Sessions’ predecessor as top Rules Republican, ex-California Rep. David Dreier, served 14 years in the position, including a decade as chairman.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hasn’t said yet when he’ll make a decision on the Rules membership for the 119th Congress. He still needs to be reelected to the post after the House reconvenes on Jan. 3.

Other candidates

Another prominent outsider, who could return to lead the panel after eight years away, is Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. She currently chairs the Education and the Workforce panel, but is not seeking a term-limits waiver to continue in that post and instead has entered the Rules race.

Foxx, 81, is in her 10th term and previously served on Rules from 2009 to 2016 before leaving to chair Education and the Workforce. She was vice chair on Rules during the 114th Congress, when Sessions led it.

As a Rules member, Foxx gained a reputation for offering strident views on legislation coming before the committee. The deeply conservative and religious Foxx could be expected to be a strong ally of Trump’s as he seeks to implement his “America First” agenda.

While Foxx has been away from the committee for several years, an aide pointed to her strong reputation within the House Republican Conference and closeness to Trump as strengths that could secure her the position.

If Foxx’s experience seems too far removed, the current committee vice chair, Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., may be ready to step into the breach.

Reschenthaler, 41, is only in his third term but has fast risen up the ranks within the House GOP. He’s served on Rules since 2021, where he’s expressed a desire to uphold the “institutional norms” of the chamber and has won praise from colleagues for his debating skills.

As chair, he could be expected to be a reliable supporter of Trump’s agenda. Reschenthaler has been an outspoken supporter of Trump’s and in 2020 he joined eight other Pennsylvania elected officials in rejecting the state’s Electoral College ballots.

He also currently serves as House Republicans’ chief deputy whip, a post he has held since January 2023, though it has not been announced yet whether he will continue in that role. It’s unclear whether he would be able to balance both roles, especially considering House Republicans’ slim majority.

Reschenthaler also has a plum seat on Appropriations, a demanding role in its own right.

Another Rules Republican, Nick Langworthy of New York, is also eyeing the post, according to staff.

Langworthy, 43, was first elected in 2022, making him a relative newcomer. However, Langworthy is a longtime New York political insider who chaired the New York State Republican Committee from 2019 to 2023. He was the youngest party chair in New York State history.

He also served on the executive committee of Trump’s first transition team in 2016. Langworthy was also an aide to former Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-N.Y., from 2003 to 2007 and former Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., from 2009 to 2010.

Now could be the right time for Langworthy though, who has long had a beef with outgoing GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. The two New York Republicans clashed over control of the state party, and Stefanik’s pending departure to join Trump’s administration as ambassador to the United Nations could provide Langworthy an opportunity to climb the ladder.

Minnesota Republican Michelle Fischbach is also interested in leading the committee, according to staff. Fischbach, who often stands in for Burgess in committee proceedings, has been a vocal partisan on the panel. She has often sparred with the committee’s liberal wing, including ranking member Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa.

Fischbach, 59, joined Rules following her election in 2020. She also serves on Budget and Ways and Means, two panels which will play a lead role in shaping economic and fiscal policy in the 119th Congress.

Either Foxx or Fischbach could be the first woman to chair the committee since 2011 when the late Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., held the position.

Leadership of the Rules Committee has changed hands several times in recent years. In April, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., left the committee to take over the House Appropriations Committee. Cole had inherited the Rules Committee gavel from McGovern, who chaired the committee from 2019 to 2023.