Rep. Bob Latta will seek the chairman’s gavel of the House Energy of Commerce in the next Congress if the GOP retains its majority.
A source close to the Ohio Republican confirmed the congressman’s plan Friday after the current chair, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, announced this week she does not plan to seek reelection.
It is unclear whether Mr. Latta will face GOP rivals for the gavel next year but the committee, which has a broad portfolio overseeing energy, technology, and health care policy, is considered an A-list panel.
Mr. Latta would have the advantage of being the most senior Republican on the committee next year. He has served on all six subcommittees and is perhaps best known in this Congress for his work on the HALT Fentanyl Act, a measure that would permanently place the synthetic opioid and its chemical analogs on the most stringently controlled list of drugs — Schedule I.
The idea is to make it clear that illicit fentanyl is a banned substance subject to stiff criminal penalties. The measure passed the House but hasn’t been approved into law.
Mrs. Rodgers said Thursday she decided not to seek reelection after “much prayer and reflection.”
She was appointed to the Energy and Commerce Committee in 2010 and became the top Republican on the panel in 2020.
She became the first female lawmaker to become chair in 2023 after Republicans secured the House majority.
“Especially as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I’ve seen the best of eastern Washington and the United States of America,” she said. “We will spend this year honoring the committee’s rich history — plowing the hard ground necessary to legislate on solutions to make people’s lives better and ensure America wins the future.”
• Mallory Wilson contributed to this report.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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