Conservative wants delay in replacing Appropriations chair

By Caitlin Emma | 04/03/2024 04:03 PM EDT

House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger of Texas announced plans to step down last month.

Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.).

(From left) Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) during a House Rules Committee hearing last year. Aderholt may challenge Cole in the race to lead the Appropriations Committee. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt still isn’t declaring whether he wants to run for the powerful Appropriations Committee chair. Instead, he’s asking his colleagues to delay the election altogether.

The GOP Steering Committee is slated to vote Tuesday on a recommendation to lead the panel. That’s expected to be Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the only person currently running for the post. Aderholt has been weighing a bid, but hasn’t formally jumped into the race.

The Alabama Republican is the most senior GOP member of the committee, next to outgoing House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas), who announced last month that she’s giving up her gavel early, ahead of a planned retirement at the end of this term.

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In a letter to House Republicans on Wednesday, Aderholt pushed his colleagues to focus on reforming a “fundamentally flawed” government funding process before choosing Granger’s successor.

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