Rep. Kay Granger's bid for the Appropriations gavel, as well as a potential Texas power play to boost her chances, is a sensitive subject among House Republicans. | AP Photo Texas GOP weighs trading speaker votes for key chairmanship The largest delegation of House Republicans is eager to secure the Appropriations gavel for Rep. Kay Granger.

Texas Republicans, the largest GOP delegation in the House, are debating whether to use their leverage in a speakership race to plant one of their own atop the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Several Texas Republicans — well aware that Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy needs their support to succeed Speaker Paul Ryan — have discussed pushing Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) to lead the spending panel in return for their votes for speaker. The idea, which has been closely guarded, came up at a recent Texas delegation lunch.


Some members of the group are more supportive of the idea than others, according to interviews with nine Texas Republicans. Though many support Granger for the chairmanship, two Texas Republicans said they don’t need to formally make the demand because they believe McCarthy will back Granger for the position.

Others, however, worry that McCarthy will throw his support to another candidate. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), who is next in line for the gavel in terms of seniority, also wants to chair the committee. So, too, does Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia, a close McCarthy ally, and Tom Cole of Oklahoma.

The contentious contest for the Appropriations Committee gavel demonstrates how the infighting over prestigious committee posts could spill into McCarthy’s bid to become speaker. A wave of GOP retirements and internal party term-limits will create a number of openings on the top of key committees, including Financial Services, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and Homeland Security, among others.

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McCarthy will have to navigate the minefield surrounding ambitious lawmakers eager to move up if he is to become speaker. He will have to balance personal, regional and ideological demands while trying not to alienate anyone. If Republicans hold on in November — and that’s a big “if” — he will have a razor-thin margin and virtually no room for error.

McCarthy allies say he has stayed strictly neutral on all committee chairmanships and has not endorsed anyone for any position. They insist his only priority is saving the majority — otherwise there will be no chairmanship to fight over.

Granger’s bid for the Appropriations gavel, as well as a potential Texas power play to boost her chances, is a sensitive subject. While the issue was discussed internally in a delegation meeting last week, no members wished to speak on the record about it.

Asked if he heard that the Texans were trying to strong-arm McCarthy, GOP Rep. Joe Barton, the dean of the delegation who is retiring this year, said, “Well could be, but I was not a part of that.” Barton added: “Even if I had, I wouldn’t comment.”

In a statement for this story, Granger’s office denied that Texas members were trying to leverage their speaker vote. Granger, however, said the delegation is united behind making her the first woman to lead the spending panel.

"Absolutely, I have spoken to all the Republican members in the Texas delegation and they have all said they will support me to be the next Appropriations Committee chair,” Granger said.

Sources familiar with the delegation dynamics say Texas appropriators John Culberson and John Carter are Granger’s biggest cheerleaders. Culberson told POLITICO he’s proposed a delegation-wide event endorsing Granger for chairman. Asked if the delegation would leverage their speakership support, Culberson said, “Private conversations are private conversations, but we are all of us enthusiastically supporting Kay Granger.”

“The whole delegation is unanimous behind her, and we’re all using every opportunity, every chance we get to promote her for chair,” Culberson said, adding that he is confident McCarthy will support Granger for the Appropriations chairmanship.

A GOP aide said that Granger’s support from her home state is “not surprising.” Still, should the group band together, they could create a potential math problem for McCarthy, who would need to garner 218 votes to succeed Ryan.

There are 25 House Republicans from Texas, a huge voting bloc of members loyal to Granger. The group already wield gavels on several powerful committees, including Agriculture, Armed Services, Science and Technology, Financial Services, Rules and Ways and Means — giving their state outsized influence in the chamber.

Next year, however, at least two of those Texas GOP chairmen are retiring; a third is term-limited; and a fourth, Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, may also lose his gavel with Ryan’s departure.

Aderholt, who was elected to Congress the same year as Granger but was placed on the committee before her, declined to comment for this story. So too did Graves. Cole could not be reached for comment.

Aderholt, 53 is chairman of the Agriculture subcommittee on Appropriations, a key post which gives him strong ties to any members with farming interests in their districts. The Appropriations Committee has approved the $145 billion spending bill, but it has not made it to the House floor yet.

Cole, for his part, is also a well-respected member. A former National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, he currently oversees the spending panel on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies and sits on the budget and rules panels.

Graves has been seen as a dark-horse candidate for the job. He’s much lower on the totem pole, but he’s close with McCarthy and has been the Californian’s most vocal ally in his bid for the top leadership job. Graves has also made inroads with President Donald Trump by supporting his push for more wall funding and “rescission” spending cuts — even over the objections of fellow appropriators. As head of the financial services subcommittee, he made the unorthodox decision to not spend all the money allotted to him by the full committee, winning praise from conservatives.

Granger, however, also has her own ties to McCarthy. She is currently chairwoman of the Defense subcommittee on Appropriations. She recently helped push through a $675 billion defense bill though the House on a big bipartisan vote. That bill included billions of dollars of spending for defense programs from her own district, such as the F-35 fighter program.

Granger, 75, recently was the only House Republican to take part in a GOP congressional delegation to Russia that met with top Kremlin officials.

