Are there congressional rules on how to replace committee members who lose their congressional status? Is there precedent, and what was the impact/effect on the ongoing investigation, and the outcome of the investigation?
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Surely there are rules for filling committee vacancies; that should be fairly common. The impact on the investigation will be that the new committee member has some catch-up work to do in reviewing the evidence already collected by the committee. This seems a fairly trivial answer to a fairly trivial question, so I can't help thinking that you have something more substantial in mind. Can you elaborate? Why do you think this would pose any noteworthy problems, or what noteworthy impact might be at issue here?– phoogAug 20, 2022 at 7:51
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@phoog The selection of committee members is along party lines, a purely political matter, the name of the game may not change, but the direction and outcome may change following the turnover of members. The catchup is easy, but maintaining consistency in members' will and thoughts is highly questionable. You know well that a highly divided bill is less likely to pass if the advocating party has lost the election, then how about the congressional investigation?– r13Aug 20, 2022 at 12:14
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If you're talking about the committee's continuation into a new Congress, that is, after there's been an election, that's an entirely different matter. As far as I understand it, the entire membership of each committee has to be reappointed at the beginning of each Congress; of course it makes sense to reappoint incumbent members for the sake of consistency, but it does require affirmative reappointment. An ad hoc committee such as an investigative committee probably requires reauthorization by the new Congress; if the house changes hands, the committee might well simply cease to exist.– phoogAug 20, 2022 at 14:47
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If you're interested in the January 6th investigation, see january6th.house.gov/about. More generally, the house rules.– phoogAug 20, 2022 at 14:51
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1I think I found the rule - essentially there is no specific rule to ensure, and maintain the continuity of the investigation, the winning party makes the call, either to disband the committee or continue on.– r13Aug 20, 2022 at 20:40
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1 Answer
Q: How do congressional investigation committees maintain continuity after losing committee members?
Standing committees may, and select committees often, conduct investigations.
In the case of the House, the authority for standing committees to conduct investigations in Rule XI 1(b)(1):
Each committee may conduct at any time such investigations and studies as it considers necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under rule X.
In the case of the Senate, investigations by standing committees may be conducted under Rule XXVI 1:
Each [standing] committee may make investigations into any matter within its jurisdiction, ...
Filling vacancies.
For standing committees in both the House and Senate, both committee assignments and vacancies are filled by a resolution (H.Res.xxx or S.Res.xxx, respectively), as a standard practice.
In the case of select committees, the rules are contained in the resolution.
For the House,
- H.Res.503 - Establishing the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
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(c) Vacancies.—Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
- H.Res.567 - Providing for the Establishment of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi.
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(c) Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
For the Senate, the authority to fill vacancies is implied rather than stated,
- S.Res.82 - A resolution to establish a Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs.
The select committee shall be composed of ten members, who shall be evenly divided between the two major political parties and shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon recommendations of the majority and minority leaders of the Senate after consultation with their chairman and ranking minority member. Five of the members appointed under this subsection shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the Senate and five shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate.
Q: Is there precedent, and what was the impact/effect on the ongoing investigation, and the outcome of the investigation?
While there may be precedent, I am not aware of one; this is because modern investigative select committees are short-lived and the replacement of vacancies during standing committee investigations are not distinguishable from other replacements.
[I have taken this question out of sequence, because there is an example of how replacement for a vacancy works.]
Q: Are there congressional rules on how to replace committee members who lose their congressional status?
On February 4, 2021, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA 14) was removed from all committee assignments, including Budget and Education and Labor. On February 15, 2021 Trent Kelly was elected to the House Committee on the Budget. On April 14, 2021 Julia Letlow was elected to the House Committee on Education and Labor and the House Committee on Agriculture. Kelley had been on Agriculture, previously.
[Note: The term 'elected' used here means the same as appointed by leadership. It's a Congress thing!]
answered Dec 9, 2022 at 20:45
