House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced ranking members for six major committees, and these Democratic choices to lead on policy present quite a contrast with Republican committee chair choices. Republicans have appointed 21 committee chairs,
20 of them men. The big Republican
racial diversity move is the appointment of Rep. Devin Nunes, who is of Portuguese descent, to chair the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
We've only got six names from Democrats so far, but to this point, the difference is striking:
- Congresswoman Nita Lowey – Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee
- Congressman Chris Van Hollen – Ranking Member, House Committee on the Budget
- Congressman Frank Pallone – Ranking Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee
- Congresswoman Maxine Waters – Ranking Member, House Committee on Financial Services
- Congresswoman Louise Slaughter – Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules
- Congressman Sander Levin – Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means
Six people, three of them women, one of those an African-American woman. If every ranking member Democrats choose from here on out is a white man—an unlikely and undesirable result—Democrats will still have three times as many women heading their efforts on committees as Republicans do. And with overall caucus leadership including Reps. Jim Clyburn and Xavier Becerra, Democrats are looking a little better on racial diversity as well.
It's reasonable to expect (hear that, House Democrats?) that Democratic ranking members in the House will continue to look more like America than do Republican committee chairs.