Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) beat out Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) to become chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and pledged to prioritize America’s southern border.
The House Republican Steering Committee selected Green for the role as it held votes for leadership positions Monday in the first week following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) rise to the speakership.
Upon securing the gavel, Green announced “ending the border crisis President Biden created is our top priority.” Green also told reporters he would assign staff members to work at the U.S.-Mexico border where they can provide “real-time updates” from Customs and Border Protection,” according to 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
First elected in 2018 and a member of the House Freedom Caucus, Green replaces Rep. John Katko (R-NY) as the top Republican member of the Homeland Security Committee after Katko did not seek re-election in the 2022 midterm cycle. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) chaired the panel during the last session of Congress while he also led the January 6 Committee.
Green faced Crenshaw, a fellow combat veteran, in the contest to become the next chairman after the Republicans won control of the House last year. Crenshaw issued an apology on Sunday for referring to some of his GOP colleagues as “terrorists” during negotiations that led to the election of McCarthy as House speaker.
“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,” Crenshaw told CNN.
Green tagged Crenshaw on Twitter, crediting him for running a “spirited race” for the homeland security panel chairmanship. “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,” Green added.
Green also said he is “grateful” to McCarthy 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!”