The eight term Santa Clarita Congressman announced on Twitter today that he’s “considering a bid for the top Republican slot on the House Armed Services Committee.”
He then helpfully linked to a WaPo blog detailing the news:
President Obama’s decision to nominate Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to serve as Army Secretary has set off a scramble by a trio of veteran lawmakers to succeed him as the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.
With the news of McHugh’s appointment only hours old, the three men immediately below him on the Armed Services GOP roster — Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (Md.), Buck McKeon (Calif.) and Mac Thornberry (Tex.) — are already positioning themselves to take his place. The winner will be in a key position, playing a vital role as Defense Secretary Robert Gates attempts to transform and modernize the military.
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Next on the committee roster is McKeon, whose interest in the ranking slot is something of a surprise, because he already holds the top GOP job on the Education and the Workforce Committee and would have to give it up if he won the Armed Services post. McKeon did not run for the Armed Services job earlier this year, but now, spokeswoman Lindsey Mask said, “The congressman is giving it serious consideration.”
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If McKeon secures the Armed Services slot, that in turn would trigger a race to succeed him as the top Republican on the Education panel.
I’m not much of a Congressional handipicker, but I imagine a few things McKeon has going for him are the facts that:
- His district includes Ft. Irwin, a number of Navy and Air Force test bases/ranges like China Lake and Edwards Air Force Base
- His district includes major defense contractors like Lockheed Martin in Palmdale
- He’s your stereotypical Republican when it comes to defense. “Hawk” doesn’t begin to describe McKeon’s positions on national security and defense.
McKeon, who is now 70 years old, plans to run for reelection in 2010. Open Secrets.org says McKeon received over $50,000 in contributions from Aerospace Defense and Miscellaneous Defense in the 2008 election cycle.
If he gets it and is thus forced to give up his Education and Labor post, he’ll be a much higher-profile Republican in Congress. Not sure how helplful that will be for us in Santa Clarita but, ummm, yeah, go McKeon I suppose.