The Dems’ Most Secret Congressional Committee

The Steering and Policy Committee runs the show and we’re not even allowed to know who’s on it

“Personnel is policy”: the leader of an organization can set its tenor, priorities, and culture. That’s especially true when it comes to Congressional committee leadership. Committee chairs decide when to hold hearings, which witnesses to call, whether to advance a bill or tie it up.

Committee chairs are set by each party’s Steering and Policy Committee. Obviously, the leadership and composition of this committee matter. A lot. If personnel is policy, then the personnel who set policy about personnel is really important policy.

The Congressional GOP splits its Steering and Policy Committee into two parts. There’s a Policy Committee, whose website lists its members:

https://republicanpolicy.house.gov/about/history-committee-membership

And there’s a Steering Committee, which also has a website:

https://www.gop.gov/steering-committee/

Both committees follow the standard rules, the same ones that all congressional committees follow.

How about the Dems?

Well…