Removal of committee members is a significant point of contention concerning the Speaker’s perceived power.
(There’s no doubt he was under enormous political pressure to do so.) For example, Representative John Conyers, D-Mich., sent a letter to Democratic leadership stepping down as ranking member of the Judiciary committee Representative Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., described it as Conyers agreeing to step down. Members might step down under other circumstances, but it always requires more than a statement by the Speaker. (CRS says it’s an open question whether an indicted-but-not-convicted member could be required to suspend participation in a committee.) How much arm twisting happened behind the scenes will be left as an exercise to the reader. Rather, Collins submitted a letter of resignation – described as a “temporary removal” - which was unanimously agreed to by the House in a pro forma session Friday morning (as shown in this brief C-Span clip). That means that Ryan didn’t remove Collins per se. For example, Speaker Ryan could remove Representative Devin Nunes, R-Calif., from the House Intelligence committee (HPSCI) at any time for any reason - HPSCI is a select committee.īut Energy and Commerce is a standing committee. And internal party rules require an indicted chairman, ranking member, or member of leadership to temporarily step aside. But technically, that’s not possible.Īccording to the Congressional Research Service, the Speaker can remove members of select committees and conference committees at any time. Collins will not be serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.” This was reported by multiple news outlets as Ryan stripping Collins of his committee membership. Immediately after his arrest, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., released a statement saying, in passive voice, “Until this matter is settled, Rep. Representative Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was recently arrested for insider trading. (Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Legislative Procedure on August 14, 2018.)
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