Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) ended up losing out to Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) in their skirmish to be appointed to the role of chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and announced his intent to make the southern border of America his priority.
The members of the House Republican Steering Committee chose Green to take over the seat as it held a number of votes for leadership roles this past Monday as part of the first week of work following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) ascension to his role as Speaker.
Once he managed to secure the gavel, Green announced “ending the border crisis President Biden created is our top priority.” Green also explained to the press that he would be setting up staff members to be stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border where they can give him “real-time updates” from the Customs and Border Protection agents, as explained by POLITICO.
I'm grateful to @SpeakerMcCarthy and the House Republican Steering Committee for entrusting me with this task; it's time to get to work and fulfill our Commitment to America! /2 pic.twitter.com/VFLYcxDNIm
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) January 9, 2023
Green, who was first elected back in 2018 and is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, officially replaces Rep. John Katko (R-NY) in the role of lead Republican member for the Homeland Security Committee after Katko chose to not pursue re-election in the 2022 midterm cycle. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) sat as the chair for the panel throughout the last session of Congress in addition to leading the January 6 Committee.
Green was up against Crenshaw, a fellow combat veteran, in the race to secure the role of chairman in the wake of the Republicans taking control of the House last year. Crenshaw put forth an apology on Sunday for making reference to a number of his GOP colleagues as “terrorists” throughout the intense negotiations which resulted in the election of McCarthy as the speaker of the House.
“To the extent that I have colleagues that were offended by it, I sincerely apologize to them. I don’t want them to think I actually believe they’re terrorists. It’s clearly a turn of phrase that you use in an intransigent negotiation,” CNN reported from a conversation with Crenshaw.
After the announcement, Green issued a post in which he tagged Crenshaw via social media, issuing him credit for taking part in a “spirited race” for the chairmanship of the homeland security panel. “I’m grateful for his friendship and leadership. I look forward to working with him, a fellow veteran who understands our national security challenges, to secure our homeland,” explained Green.
Additionally, green stated that he is very “grateful” to McCarthy and those sitting on the House Republican Steering Committee “for entrusting me with this task; it’s time to get to work and fulfill our Commitment to America!”