July 25, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Conservatives are united in their opposition and shared outrage at the deliberate sidelining of Rep. Clay Higgins. Rep. Higgins, next in line to lead the House Homeland Security Committee, was passed over in favor of the less senior and far less conservative Rep. Andrew Garbarino.
Unfortunately, this reflects a pattern of behavior by the House GOP conference. Qualified and senior conservative members, particularly House Freedom Caucus members, are repeatedly passed over for key committee assignments and chairmanships in favor of moderate members. In 2014, Rep. Jim Jordan was bypassed in favor of Rep. Jason Chaffetz for the House Oversight and Reform Committee, despite his clear qualifications and seniority. In 2020, then Rep. Jody Hice was next in line to take over the same committee – only to be passed over for the more junior Rep. James Comer.
The dismissal of Rep. Higgins is not only unjustifiable from a seniority standpoint, but for the wealth of experience Rep. Higgins brings to the role. He has a strong law enforcement background and a wealth of experience both with interior enforcement and border security laws. He demonstrated both as one of the most effective members in articulating the impeachment case against former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Rep. Garbarino, by contrast, lacks Rep. Higgins’ depth of experience and, more broadly, is out of step with the House GOP conference and the voting base on key issues. He voted to create the politically weaponized and grossly abused January 6th Select Committee, has voted in favor of restrictions on access to firearms, and was one of only 13 Republicans to vote for former President Biden’s trillion dollar green infrastructure bill. Garbarino also voted in favor of same sex marriage and against stripping taxpayer dollars to support Pride Month observances. Most concerningly, Garbarino will now lead the committee with jurisdiction over immigration policy after voting for amnesty and against strengthening interior immigration enforcement.
Time and time again, the process of selecting committee chairs has shown that it serves the needs of House moderates over needs of the voters. Passing over Rep. Higgins for chairman of the House Homeland Committee is just the latest example of an internally partisan and self-serving system. The selection process, via the Steering Committee, must either be reformed or dissolved.
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman, Conservative Action Project President, Council for National Policy |
The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) |
| Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute |
Jenny Beth Martin Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. |
| Kevin Roberts, Ph.D. President The Heritage Foundation |
The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council |
| The Honorable David McIntosh President Club for Growth |
David N. Bossie President Citizens United |
| Thomas E. McClusky Principal Greenlight Strategies, LLC |
Eric Teetsel Chief Executive Officer Center for Renewing America |
| Chad Connelly Founder and President Faith Wins |
The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
| Myron Ebell Chairman American Lands Council |
Bob Carlstrom The Carlstrom Group |
| The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) |
Scott T. Parkinson Vice President for Government Affairs Club for Growth |
| Wesley Denton Chief Operating Officer Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) |
Noah Wall President & Founder State Leadership Initiative |
| The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs President Ronald Reagan |
Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Senior Legal Fellow Conservative Partnership Institute |
| Thomas H. Jones Founder American Accountability Foundation |
Andrew Roth President State Freedom Caucus Network |
| The Honorable George K. Rasley, Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com |
Paavo Ensio Chairman Universal Minerals Group |
| Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr. Founder and President STAND Foundation,. Inc. |
Ron Pearson President Pearson & Pipkin |
| John Stemberger President Liberty Counsel Action |
Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation |
| Rosemary Jenks Cofounder Immigration Accountability Project |
Seton Motley President Less Government |
| Dr. Kat Lindley President Global Health Project |
E. Paul Bigham, Esq. Founder Nonprofit Fundraising Advisors |
| Kristen A. Ullman President Eagle Forum |
Tom DeWeese President American Policy Center |
| Amb. Henry F. Cooper Pres. Reagan’s Defense and Space Negotiator SDI Director under Pres. GHW Bush |
Anne Schlafly Chairman Eagle Forum |
| Lynn Taylor President Virginia Institute for Public Policy |
Craig Shirley Reagan and Trump Biographer Presidential Historian |
| Brian S. Brown President National Organization for Marriage |
Floyd G Brown President American Media Council |
| Allen J. Hebert | Amy Kremer Chair Women for America First |
| Jim Pfaff President The Conservative Caucus |
Randy M Long Founder Long Business Advisors, LLC |
| Donald T. Eason President Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) |
Janelle Towne The Conservative Caucus |
| Melissa Emery Board Member Media Research Center (MRC) |
Jerry Maston Sr. Pastor River of Life Church |
| Michael Lunsford Executive Director Citizens for a New Louisiana |
Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary |
| Pastor Ralph A. Rebandt, II Founder/President Michigan Lighthouse Ministries |
Jessie Rubino State Director, Wyoming State Freedom Caucus Network |
| Hannah Determan State Director, South Dakota State Freedom Caucus Network |
Kamen Kreilick State Director State Freedom Caucus Network |
| The Honorable Lucas Cayler Member (District 11B) Idaho House of Representatives |
The Honorable Clint Hostetler Member (District 24) Idaho House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Kent Marmon Member (District 11A) Idaho House of Representatives |
The Honorable Christy Zito Member (District 8) Idaho State Senate |
| The Honorable Glenneda Zuiderveld Member (District 24) Idaho State Senate |
Blake Bassham Research Director State Freedom Caucus Network |
| Richard G. Scurry President Bible Literacy Project |
Collin Moseley State Director, Illinois State Freedom Caucus Network |
| Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. Founder and CEO CorsiNation.com |
The Honorable David H. Friess Member (District 115) Illinois House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Adam Niemerg Member (District 102) Illinois House of Representatives |
The Honorable Danny McCormick Member (District 1) Louisiana House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Beryl A. Amedee Member (District 51) Louisiana House of Representatives |
The Honorable Phillip Tarver Member (District 36) Louisiana House of Representatives |
| Nathan Dahm State Director, Oklahoma State Freedom Caucus Network |
The Honorable Dodie Horton Member (District 9) Louisiana House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Kathy Edmonston Member (District 88) Louisiana House of Representatives |
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
| The Honorable David J. Leavitt Member (District 25) Idaho House of Representatives |
Dr. Charles A. Owen Member (District 30) Louisiana House of Representatives |
| Suanne Edmiston State Director, Arizona State Freedom Caucus Network |
The Honorable Jake Hoffman Member (District 15), Arizona State Senate Chairman, Arizona Freedom Caucus |
| The Honorable Rachel Keshel Member (District 17) Arizona House of Representatives |
LTC (Ret) Darin Gaub State Director, Montana State Freedom Caucus Network |
| The Honorable Barry Usher Member (District 19) Montana State Senate |
The Honorable Joseph Chaplik Member (District 3) Arizona House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Shane David Jett Member (District 17) Oklahoma State Senate |
The Honorable Noelle Kahaian Member (District 81) Georgia House of Representatives |
| Lee Beaman CEO Beaman Ventures |
The Honorable Dave Zimmerman Member (District 99) Pennsylvania House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Faye Thompson Member (District 8) Idaho House of Representatives |
Sandy Rios Senior Policy Advisor American Family Association |
| The Honorable Brad Halbrook Member (District 107) Illinois House of Representatives |
The Honorable Charlice Byrd Member (District 20) Georgia House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Dusty Deevers Member (District 32) Oklahoma State Senate |
Tim Wildmon President American Family Association |
| The Honorable Paul C. Fielder Member (District 13) Montana House of Representatives |
The Honorable Bob Phalen Member (District 36) Montana House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Rodney Schamerhorn Member (District 24) Louisiana House of Representatives |
The Honorable Beverly Pingerelli Member (District 28) Arizona House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Tom Millett Member (District 2) Montana House of Representatives |
The Honorable David Marshall Sr Member (District 7) Arizona House of Representatives |
| The Honorable Blaine J. Wilhour Member (District 107) Illinois House of Representatives |
Carol Rebandt Director of First Lighthouse Book Club of Michigan Michigan Lighthouse Ministries |
| The Honorable Tony Tezak Member (District 35) Montana State Senate |
Frank Pavone National Director Priests for Life |
| The Honorable Mike Hill Former Member Florida State House |
Emilie Prince Wierda Chair Eagle Companies |
| The Honorable Theresa Manzella Member (District 44) Montana State Senate |
The Honorable Carl Glimm Member (District 2) Montana State Senate |
| Tim LeFever Chairman Capitol Resource Institute |
Rebecca Weber CEO Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) |
| Lt. Gen William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.
