Texas’ Kay Granger fights for top defense post against well-placed Hal Rogers | McClatchy Washington Bureau

After nearly 20 years in Congress, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, was ready to make her move to chair a key subcommittee that will direct funding that benefits her defense-heavy North Texas district.

But another lawmaker with more seniority has the same idea and, as a result, it’s going to be a little tougher for Granger to win the post when Congress returns after the November elections. And that assumes, in the 2016 volatile political climate, that the House stays in Republican hands.

Granger now is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee that oversees the State Department and foreign operations. She’d like to take on leadership of the defense subcommittee, where she is already the vice-chairwoman.

Granger was unavailable for comment but told McClatchy in June that she wanted to lead the defense subcommittee. “It’s been a goal of mine since I came to Congress,” she said.

The defense subcommittee position is expected to open because the current chairman of the defense subcommittee, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., is likely to become the chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee. That position, in turn, is opening up because it is term-limited.

But the problem for Granger is that outgoing full committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who wouldn’t signal his interest earlier this year, has now decided he would like the defense slot.

“He’s informed Speaker Ryan that is his preference,” a GOP appropriations aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue told McClatchy.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. has an oversized role in who leads committees – and also the appropriations subcommittees – because he effectively controls the House Republican steering committee that makes the recommendations. The selections are then approved by the House members – a process that is invariably a rubber stamp.

“The steering committee ultimately makes the decision about leadership of committees,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong in an interview. Does Ryan have a preference on who chairs the defense position? “I wouldn’t have anything on that,” she said. “It’s very premature.” As for Republicans maintaining control of the House, she said, “we feel confident about that.”

The House Appropriations Committee is the panel that doles out money annually to the federal government, and the 12 chairmen of the subcommittees are so powerful they are known as “cardinals.” In the Roman Catholic Church, the cardinals are the leaders just below the pope – it is the College of Cardinals that selects the pope.

Loren Thompson, a defense expert at the non-partisan Lexington Institute, a think tank, said in an interview, “Granger stands out as one of the few members who understands defense.” However, he thinks Rogers’ seniority is an advantage. “Because Rogers served as chairman at a difficult time, he probably has an edge in trying to get the defense subcommittee chairmanship.”

Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a non-partisan group, said in an interview, “The defense subcommittee is the most important subcommittee in the House.” Not only is defense about half of all the discretionary budget – $600 billion – but appropriators can decide how to allocate spending.

Harrison pointed out that for the current fiscal year, the Defense Department asked for 63 of the next-generation F-35 fighters, which are built in Fort Worth by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. “House appropriators put funding for 74 aircraft in their defense bill,” said Harrison.

Granger, who is knowledgeable and well-respected, may have another advantage – the GOP may be looking to elevate women to senior positions. “I think there’s a moral case for Granger. It’s a good thing for the Republican Party,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, a non-partisan think tank.