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WASHINGTON—Rep. Bob Goodlatte will step down next month as the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee and become the No. 2 Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
The move marks Goodlatte’s first leadership role on the judiciary committee since joining the panel in 1993.
“This committee really deals with the heart and soul of legislation in congress,” said Goodlatte, R-6th, an attorney.
Virginians occupy four of the 40 seats on the committee, which has broad jurisdiction over a host of legal issues.
“Anything that has to do with courthouse construction or FBI agents, anything in civil and criminal justice – judiciary really is the place,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.
But the judiciary committee does not confirm federal judges – a power held solely by its Senate counterpart.
Under House Republican rules, Goodlatte had to vacate his leadership post on the agriculture committee after three terms. He will stay on the panel and become the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research.
“Since he’s been chairman and ranking member he’s still going to carry a lot of sway and credibility,” said Wilmer Stoneman, associate director of government relations at the Virginia Farm Bureau.
Goodlatte counted this year’s bipartisan farm bill as a key accomplishment of his time on the agriculture panel. He sounded less optimistic about having the same level of bipartisan cooperation on the judiciary committee.
“This is a much more polarized committee,” Goodlatte said.
“There are a number of issues that so far the Democrats have not shown as much interest as I’d like to see,” he said, citing a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. “We’ll keep pushing those things.”
--Neil H. Simon
The move marks Goodlatte’s first leadership role on the judiciary committee since joining the panel in 1993.
“This committee really deals with the heart and soul of legislation in congress,” said Goodlatte, R-6th, an attorney.
Virginians occupy four of the 40 seats on the committee, which has broad jurisdiction over a host of legal issues.
“Anything that has to do with courthouse construction or FBI agents, anything in civil and criminal justice – judiciary really is the place,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.
But the judiciary committee does not confirm federal judges – a power held solely by its Senate counterpart.
Under House Republican rules, Goodlatte had to vacate his leadership post on the agriculture committee after three terms. He will stay on the panel and become the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research.
“Since he’s been chairman and ranking member he’s still going to carry a lot of sway and credibility,” said Wilmer Stoneman, associate director of government relations at the Virginia Farm Bureau.
Goodlatte counted this year’s bipartisan farm bill as a key accomplishment of his time on the agriculture panel. He sounded less optimistic about having the same level of bipartisan cooperation on the judiciary committee.
“This is a much more polarized committee,” Goodlatte said.
“There are a number of issues that so far the Democrats have not shown as much interest as I’d like to see,” he said, citing a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. “We’ll keep pushing those things.”
--Neil H. Simon