Mike Rogers and Adam Smith announce subcommittee rosters on House Armed Services Committee
On Wednesday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith announced the following Chairmen, Ranking Members, and subcommittee rosters for the 118th Congress selected by Chairman Rogers and the Democratic Committee Caucus. “We must ensure that our military focuses on lethality and capability,” Chairman Rogers said. “Over the next two years, the House Armed Services Committee will provide our warfighters with the resources and weapons they need to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary anywhere in the world.” Chairman Rogers named Rob Wittman as Vice Chairman, and Ranking Member Smith named Pat Ryan as Vice Ranking Member. Alabama Congress members Terri Sewell and Dale Strong also serve on the Armed Services Committee. “The State of Alabama has long played a central role in advancing U.S. defense capabilities, and as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am excited to do my part to support the brave men and women working to keep our nation safe and secure,” said Rep. Sewell. “We in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District are proud to be home to Maxwell Air Force Base, the 187th Fighter Wing, the 117th Air Refueling Wing, and countless men and women in uniform that profoundly serve our country. I look forward to leveraging my position on the Armed Services Committee to advocate for their needs in this new Congress.” “When I was sworn in as your Representative, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution,” said Rep. Strong. “My first responsibility is to provide for a strong national defense. Serving on the Armed Services Committee will allow me to directly advocate for the commonsense policies that strengthen our national security and best serve America’s men and women in uniform.” The House Armed Services subcommittee Chairmen, Ranking Members, and rosters, with members listed in order of subcommittee seniority, are as follows: Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation: Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) – Chairman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) Lisa McClain (R-Michigan) Pat Fallon (R-Texas) Dale Strong (R-AL05) Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) Nick LaLota (R-NY) Rich McCormick (R-Texas) Ro Khanna (D-California) – Ranking Member Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) Bill Keating (D-Massachusetts) Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) Jared Golden (D-Maine) Pat Ryan (D-New York) Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania) Intelligence and Special Operations: Jack Bergman (R-Michigan) – Chairman Austin Scott (R-Georgia) Elise Stefanik (R-New York) Trent Kelly (R-Mississippi) Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) Cory Mills (R-Florida) Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) – Ranking Member Bill Keating (D-Massachusetts) Jason Crow (D-Colorado) Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) Sara Jacobs (D-California) Jeff Jackson (D-North Carolina) Jimmy Panetta (D-California) Military Personnel: Jim Banks (R-Indiana) – Chairman Elise Stefanik (R-New York) Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) Jack Bergman (R-Michigan) Michael Waltz (R-Florida) Brad Finstad (R-Minnesota) James Moylan (R-Guam) Mark Alford (R-Missouri) Cory Mills (R-Florida) Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) – Ranking Member Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania) Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) Marilyn Strickland (D-Washington) Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) Don Davis (D-North Carolina) Terri Sewell (D-AL07) Steven Horsford (D-Nevada) Readiness: Michael Waltz (R-Florida) – Chairman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) Austin Scott (R-Georgia) Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida) Brad Finstad (R-Minnesota) Dale Strong (R-AL05) Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) James Moylan (R-Guam) John Garamendi (D-California) – Ranking Member Jason Crow (D-California) Mikie Sherrill (D-New Jersey) Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) Marilyn Strickland (D-Washington) Gabriel Vasquez (D-New Mexico) Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) Don Davis (D-North Carolina) Seapower and Projection Forces: Trent Kelly (R-Mississippi) – Chairman Rob Wittman (R-Virginia) Scott DesJarlais (R-Tennessee) Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) Jack Bergman (R-Michigan) Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) Mark Alford (R-Missouri) Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) – Ranking Member John Garamendi (D-California) Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey) Jared Golden (D-Maine) Sara Jacobs (D-California) Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania) Jimmy Panetta (D-California) Strategic Forces: Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) – Chairman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) Mike Turner (R-Ohio) Elise Stefanik (R-New York) Scott DesJarlais (R-Tennessee) Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) Jim Banks (R-Indiana) Michael Waltz (R-Florida) Dale Strong (R-AL05) Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) – Ranking Member John Garamendi (D-California) Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey) Salud Carbajal (D-California) Ro Khanna (D-California) Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania) Gabriel Vasquez (D-New Mexico) Tactical Air and Land Forces: Rob Wittman (R-Virginia) – Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) Sam Graves (R-Missouri) Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) Lisa McClain (R-Michigan) Pat Fallon (R-Texas) Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida) Nick LaLota (R-New York) Rich McCormick (R-Georgia) Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey) – Ranking Member Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) Salud Carbajal (D-California) Mikie Sherrill (D-New Jersey) Pat Ryan (D-New York) Jeff Jackson (D-North Carolina) Steven Horsford (D-Nevada) Rogers was elected to his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. Before his congressional service, Rogers represented Calhoun County in the Alabama State Legislature. Rogers also served on the Calhoun County Commission. He is an attorney. He and his family live in Saks. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Will Sellers: Saint Hannah and her sinner son
The summer of 1974 in Washington DC was a political bullfight; there was one bull, but a host of matadors, picadors, and spectators galore just waiting to watch President Richard Nixon in his last gasps of political power. Congressional hearings, articles of impeachment, and an administration completely insular and unstable were all coming to a simultaneous head. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger metaphorically described this as the highest pinnacles of success descending into the deepest valleys of distress. Over the course of the prior few years, President Nixon had won the largest landslide election victory to that point in history, successfully concluded American involvement in Vietnam, and achieved the monumental foreign policy objectives of detente with the USSR, stability in the Middle East, and rapprochement with China. But in August 1974, all these achievements were forgotten, and with an atmosphere of political intrigue thick with smiling hatred, the bull in the ring faced the final cut. Almost everyone had deserted him as key members of his staff faced indictment, trials, and prison. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled he had to provide tape-recorded conversations to prosecutors, the House Judiciary Committee passed the first article of impeachment for obstruction of justice, and a group of key legislators informed him that he didn’t have the votes in the Senate to avoid removal from office. Nixon even called Alabama Governor George Wallace to enlist his support, but Wallace refused to intervene on his behalf with members of the Alabama congressional delegation and other Boll Weevil Democrats. After the call with Wallace, Nixon turned to Chief of Staff Alexander Haig and said, “Well, Al, there goes the presidency.” And so the true “man in the arena” faced the final curtain all alone. The day before, on national television, Nixon announced his intention to resign, and now, on the morning of August 9, in an impromptu moment, Nixon addressed the White House staff for the last time as president. In what has been described as rambling, unprepared, and certainly unscripted remarks, Nixon, perhaps for the only time, opened his soul and summed up his life’s work. These off-the-cuff remarks were recorded, and for history’s sake, transcribed for all of see. In the midst of a rambling apology, Nixon reflected on his youth and his parents and then, out of the blue and with no context, said: “Nobody will ever write a book, probably, about my mother. Well, I guess all of you would say this about your mother – my mother was a saint. And, I think of her, two boys dying of tuberculosis, nursing four others in order that she could take care of my older brother for three years in Arizona and seeing each of them die, and when they died, it was like one of her own. Yes, she will have no books written about her. But she was a saint.” An old saying, perhaps, said to comfort women of a different age and justify their sacrifices states: “The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.” So, Nixon’s mother, Hannah Milhous, at least for five-and-a-half years, ruled the world. No book has ever been written about her, but the life of Hannah Nixon and the impact she had on her son and his consequential role in American politics and international affairs is worth consideration. Hannah Milhous was born in 1885 in Butlerville, Indiana, into a devout Quaker family of farmers. She was one of nine children; seven girls and two boys. Her father, Franklin, was an orchardist, who, seeing brighter days ahead, moved his entire family to California in 1897 to establish a tree nursery and orange grove with other Quakers in Whittier, California. While a “birthright” Quaker, Hannah’s branch of the faith expressed itself in a more evangelical bent, and at the age of 18, she had a religious experience that made her very devout and committed. Hannah was intelligent, and after completing high school, she attended Whittier College, where, by all accounts, she made good grades and was on the path to becoming a teacher. No stranger to hard work, she helped her mother with various household tasks, assisted with her father’s farm, and stayed up late each night studying. Her life would be forever changed when, at a Quaker Valentine’s Day party, she met Frank Nixon. They feel in love and married four months later. Hannah’s family never really approved of Frank and thought she had married beneath her. The fact that she married before finishing college was also a sore spot with Hannah’s family, who never seemed to warm up to Frank. But Hannah truly loved her husband, and, having completed her sophomore year of college, seemed ready to start her own family. Within a year of their marriage, Harold Nixon was born, followed by Richard in 1913. She had five sons in all, named after the early English kings; Richard, for the Richard the Lion-Hearted. By all accounts, Frank was uncouth, argumentative, and a tough father. Upon his marriage to Hannah, he converted to the Quaker faith but never truly left his Methodist roots. Hannah was the complete opposite – quiet and inclined to see both sides of an issue. She was also compassionate, and one area of disagreement with Frank was Hannah’s willingness to help the destitute. Frank wanted someone to work before receiving assistance, but Hannah would never turn away a tramp from the door and ran the household like a charitable operation. Even when the family had enough money to employ a “hired girl,” Hannah insisted that the servant eat with them at the table. Hannah was religious and committed to her faith, but she was also had a deep sense of privacy and was not a show-off when it came to piety. At night, she went into her closet to say her prayers. As was true of most Quakers, neither she nor Frank smoked, drank, or cursed, and she expected that her children would accept these same restraints. Hannah’s influence was so
