Lucas eyes chairmanship opportunities in House
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas finds himself in an advantageous place.
The Cheyenne Republican is a prominent member of two House committees where chairmen are retiring, placing him in an opportune position to lead if he can convince his fellow Republicans to allow it.
The House Science Committee and House Financial Services Committee will both be leaderless after the next Congress arrives in early 2019. If Republicans remain in control of the House, their chairs will be decided by the Republican Steering Committee, led by House Speaker Paul Ryan.
“At this point in time, I am interested in both and my colleagues up here know that,” Lucas said in an interview Tuesday.
Though he may be interested in both, Oklahoma’s longest-serving current House member has a clear and unsurprising favorite: the far more influential Financial Services Committee, which oversees banking and Wall Street.
“I don’t think my colleagues are that surprised I’m primarily concerned about financial services but this is a time in life when having options is a good thing,” Lucas said. He continued: “Science would be so much fun but, given a choice, I have to look at what’s best for my district.”
Lucas, whose largely rural district of western and northern Oklahoma covers half the state, said financial policy is crucial to the dominate economic forces of his district: energy, agriculture and small businesses.
Lucas campaigned among fellow House Republicans for the chairmanship in 2014, challenging Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, but later dropped out. Hensarling, who has announced he will not run for re-election, will remain chairman until his retirement in early 2019.
‘I can get something done’
Lucas said Tuesday that frustrations among committee members, which prompted him to run in 2014, “have still persisted” and the committee has been “too idealistic.” He intends to make the case that he is a pragmatist who can work with Democrats, Republicans and the White House.
“I can get something done. I have a track record of getting something done,” he said, citing his work on the last farm bill while chairman of the House Agriculture Committee from 2011 to 2015.
Lucas voted in favor of a bill this year that repealed provisions of the DoddFrank Act, an Obama-era law that imposed restrictions on banking. He voted against Dodd-Frank in 2009 and against the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out banks, the year before.
Lucas anticipates a four-person race for the chairmanship and says jockeying has been occurring for some time. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is considered an early frontrunner because he is vice chairman and close to House leadership.
If Lucas becomes convinced that his bid to lead Financial Services is falling short, he could instead try for a chairmanship of the less prominent Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He is currently the vice chair.
The congressman says his oversight of the nation’s weather monitoring agencies would be important to a district where extreme weather can be deadly and weather trends can make or break farms. Though he would prefer to head the Financial Services Committee, he considers the Science Committee a worthy backup.
“I don’t doubt at some point, probably next year, I’ll have to make a hard choice,” Lucas said.