United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs

House Foreign Affairs Committee
Standing committee
Active

United States House of Representatives
118th Congress
History
Formed1822
Leadership
ChairMichael McCaul (R)
Since January 3, 2023
Ranking memberGregory Meeks (D)
Since January 3, 2023
Vice chairVacant
Structure
Seats51
Political partiesMajority (27)
  •   Republican (27)
Minority (23)
Jurisdiction
Policy areasForeign policy, aid, diplomacy
Oversight authorityDepartment of State
Agency for International Development
Senate counterpartSenate Committee on Foreign Relations
Website
foreignaffairs.house.gov

The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs of the United States.[1] Since 2023, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee has been Michael McCaul of Texas.

The committee has a broad mandate to oversee legislation regarding the impact of national security developments on foreign policy; war powers, treaties, executive agreements, and military deployments abroad; foreign assistance; arms control; international economic policy; and other matters.[1] Many of its responsibilities are delegated to one of six standing subcommittees, which have jurisdiction over issues related to their respective region in the world. The committee also oversees the U.S. Department of State, American embassies and diplomats, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

During two separate periods, 1975 to 1978 and 1995 to 2007, the Foreign Affairs Committee was renamed the Committee on International Relations;[2] its duties and jurisdiction remained unchanged.

Its counterpart in the Senate is the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Members, 118th Congress

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Majority Minority

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (Chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 80 (R), H.Res. 87 (D), H.Res. 76 (removing Omar), H.Res. 102 (D), H.Res. 205 (D), H.Res. 871 (D)

Subcommittees

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Whereas until the 118th Congress, subcommittees tended to combine jurisdiction over particular regions of the globe with jurisdiction over broader policy areas (e.g. terrorism or energy policy), in the 118th Congress, the subcommittees were reconfigured to strictly focus on geographical areas, with the exception of global issues and international organisations which received their own subcommittee.

Subcommittee Chair[3] Ranking Member[4]
Africa John James (R-MI) Sara Jacobs (D-CA)
Europe Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) Bill Keating (D-MA)
The Indo-Pacific Young Kim (R-CA) Ami Bera (D-CA)
The Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Joe Wilson (R-SC) Dean Phillips (D-MN)
Western Hemisphere Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) Joaquin Castro (D-TX)
Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Chris Smith (R-NJ) Susan Wild (D-PA)
Oversight and Accountability Brian Mast (R-FL) Jason Crow (D-CO)

List of chairs

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Data from the committee's official website:[5]

Chairman Party Dates of service Home state
Jonathan Russell Democratic-Republican 1821–1823 Massachusetts
John Forsyth Democratic-Republican 1823–1827 Georgia
Edward Everett National Republican 1827–1829 Massachusetts
William S. Archer Democratic 1829–1834 Virginia
James Moore Wayne Democratic 1834–1835 Georgia
John Young Mason Democratic 1835 Virginia
Benjamin Chew Howard Democratic 1835–1839 Maryland
Francis Wilkinson Pickens Democratic 1839–1841 South Carolina
Caleb Cushing Democratic 1841–1842 Massachusetts
John Quincy Adams Whig 1842–1843 Massachusetts
Charles Jared Ingersoll Democratic 1843–1847 Pennsylvania
Truman Smith Whig 1847–1849 Connecticut
John Alexander McClernand Democratic 1849–1851 Illinois
Thomas Henry Bayly Democratic 1851–1855 Virginia
Alexander C. M. Pennington Opposition 1855–1857 New Jersey
Thomas Lanier Clingman Democratic 1857–1858 North Carolina
George Washington Hopkins Democratic 1858–1859 Virginia
Thomas Corwin Republican 1859–1861 Ohio
John J. Crittenden Union Democratic 1861–1863 Kentucky
Henry Winter Davis Unconditional Union 1863–1865 Maryland
Nathaniel P. Banks Republican 1865–1872 Massachusetts
Leonard Myers Republican 1872–1873 Pennsylvania
Godlove Stein Orth Republican 1873–1875 Indiana
Thomas Swann Democratic 1875–1879 Maryland
Samuel S. Cox Democratic 1879–1881 New York
Charles G. Williams Republican 1881–1883 Wisconsin
Andrew Gregg Curtin Democratic 1883–1885 Pennsylvania
Perry Belmont Democratic 1885–1888 New York
James B. McCreary Democratic 1888–1889 Kentucky
Robert R. Hitt Republican 1889–1891 Illinois
James Henderson Blount Democratic 1891–1893 Georgia
James B. McCreary Democratic 1893–1895 Kentucky
Robert R. Hitt Republican 1895–1906 Illinois
Robert G. Cousins Republican 1907–1909 Iowa
James Breck Perkins Republican 1909–1910 New York
David J. Foster Republican 1910–1911 Vermont
William Sulzer Democratic 1911–1912 New York
Charles Bennett Smith Democratic 1912–1913 New York
Henry D. Flood Democratic 1913–1919 Virginia
Stephen G. Porter Republican 1919–1930 Pennsylvania
Henry Wilson Temple Republican 1930–1931 Pennsylvania
John Charles Linthicum Democratic 1931–1932 Maryland
Sam D. McReynolds Democratic 1932–1939 Tennessee
Sol Bloom Democratic 1939–1947 New York
Charles Aubrey Eaton Republican 1947–1949 New Jersey
Sol Bloom Democratic 1949 New York
John Kee Democratic 1949–1951 West Virginia
James P. Richards Democratic 1951–1953 South Carolina
Robert B. Chiperfield Republican 1953–1955 Illinois
James P. Richards Democratic 1955–1957 South Carolina
Thomas S. Gordon Democratic 1957–1959 Illinois
Thomas E. Morgan Democratic 1959–1977 Pennsylvania
Clement J. Zablocki Democratic 1977–1983 Wisconsin
Dante Fascell Democratic 1983–1993 Florida
Lee H. Hamilton Democratic 1993–1995 Indiana
Benjamin A. Gilman Republican 1995–2001 New York
Henry Hyde Republican 2001–2007 Illinois
Tom Lantos Democratic 2007–2008 California
Howard Berman Democratic 2008–2011 California
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Republican 2011–2013 Florida
Ed Royce Republican 2013–2019 California
Eliot Engel Democratic 2019–2021 New York
Gregory Meeks Democratic 2021–2023 New York
Michael McCaul Republican 2023–present Texas

Previous members

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117th Congress

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Majority Minority

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (Chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R), H.Res. 146 (R), H.Res. 1471 (D)

Subcommittees
Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights Karen Bass (D-CA) Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation Ami Bera (D-CA) Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber Bill Keating (D-MA) Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Ted Deutch (D-FL) Joe Wilson (R-SC)
International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact Joaquin Castro (D-TX) Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY)
Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy Albio Sires (D-NJ) Mark Green (R-TN)

116th Congress

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Majority Minority

Sources: H.Res. 24 (Chair), H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 57 (D), H.Res. 68 (R), H.Res. 1072 (R)

Subcommittees
Subcommittee[6] Chair[7][8] Ranking Member[9]
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Karen Bass (D-CA) Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation Ami Bera (D-CA) Ted Yoho (R-FL)
Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment Bill Keating (D-MA) Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)
Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism Ted Deutch (D-FL) Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Oversight and Investigations Joaquin Castro (D-TX) Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade Albio Sires (D-NJ) Francis Rooney (R-FL)

115th Congress

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Majority Minority

Sources: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 45 (D), H.Res. 51 (R) and H.Res. 52 (D)[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About". House Foreign Affairs Committee. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  2. ^ "Committee Activity". House Foreign Affairs Committee.
  3. ^ "Chairman McCaul Announces Committee Leadership Team". Committee on Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  4. ^ "Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks Announces HFAC Subcommittee Membership for the 118th Congress". democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov. 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. ^ "Past Chairs of the Committee". History of the Committee. U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  6. ^ "Subcommittees". House Foreign Affairs Committee. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  7. ^ "Engel Announces Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Democrats and Committee Vice Chair". House Foreign Affairs Committee. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  8. ^ "Engel Announces Changes to Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Leadership". House Foreign Affairs Committee. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  9. ^ "McCaul Announces Republican Subcommittee Leadership and Membership Rosters at 116th Committee Organizational Meeting". Committee on Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  10. ^ "Full Committee". Foreign Affairs Committee.
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