DesJarlais gets strategic forces chair in House Armed Services

A Tennessee congressman will lead the subcommittee with oversight of U.S. nuclear forces in the 119th Congress, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) chair of the House Armed Services Committee in the new Congress, announced the new appointments in a press release.

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) is the new chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces panel, which has oversight of nuclear weapons, ballistic missile defense, national security space programs and Department of Energy national security programs, replacing the now retired Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.).

“Tennessee’s military installations are some of the best in the country and I know that the hard work of this committee will continue to advance our capabilities. I want to thank Chairman Mike Rogers for the privilege to serve in this capacity,” DesJarlais said in a statement.

Of the seven new House Armed Services Committee members Rogers announced Wednesday, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) is the only one who previously served in Congress. The newly-elected members of Congress joining the House Armed Services Committee include Reps. John McGuire (R-Va.), Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.), Mark Messmer (R-Ind.), Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.), Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) and Abraham Hamadeh (R-Ariz.).

Meanwhile, a number of Republicans who were reelected in November will remain on the House Armed Services Committee in the new Congress: Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), James Moylan (R-Guam, Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and Clay Higgins (R-La.).

As of Friday, House Democrats’ had not announced their picks for the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee ranking members and roster spots.

Also in the House, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was re-elected by a razor-thin margin to be the Speaker of the House for the 119th Congress on Friday. Johnson only had room for one Republican deflection — taken up by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — and barely nabbed the win after two last-minute vote changes. 

In the end, Johnson clenched just enough votes at 218-215, with all Republicans except Massie voting for him.

A version of this story first appeared in Exchange Monitor affiliate publication Defense Daily.