The House Republican Steering Committee on Monday night selected Republican New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino to chair the lower chamber’s Homeland Security Committee and spearhead much of House Republicans’ border security and immigration agenda.
The election was held to replace Republican Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who announced his resignation from Congress in early July. Garbarino, a moderate, was chosen to lead the committee over fellow GOP Reps. Michael Guest of Mississippi, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, and Clay Higgins of Louisiana.
Garbarino, at the time of his election, chaired the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection subcommittee. His knowledge surrounding cybersecurity propelled his push for chairman.
The moderate New York Republican also had an immigration win earlier this year after the original language from his Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act was included in the Laken Riley Act. Garbarino first introduced his POLICE Act in 2021, and reintroduced it once the 119th Congress convened in January.
In the weeks leading up to the Homeland Security vote, Garbarino has shown public support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), taking to the House floor to blast attempts by Democrats to ban immigration enforcement agents from wearing face masks.
“It’s amazing listening to the other side complain about … ICE and saying that they should not be wearing masks even though they’re rounding up MS-13 criminals who in my district would chop up children with machetes,” Garbarino said in a video clip he posted to X on July 16. “Antifa, they could wear their masks, the violent protestors that burn down cities, burn down cars, loot, they can keep their masks on. God forbid we hold criminals accountable and ask them to be demasked. But our law enforcement officers, let’s put them in danger.”
The blue state congressman is also well known a a supporter of high state and local tax (SALT) caps. He also made headlines when he fell asleep on the House Floor on May 22, causing him to miss the chamber’s vote on the “big, beautiful” bill’s passage.
Notably, Garbarino’s direct predecessor in Congress, retired Republican New York Rep. Pete King, chaired the House Homeland Security Committee from 2005 to 2007, and again from 2011 to 2013.
The Steering Committee gave House Speaker Mike Johnson four votes out of the committee’s total 38, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, two of his own. Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana is also on the committee, which gave the state’s lawmakers seven votes in total.
The Homeland Security committee chair selection comes as Republicans consider drafting a new version of H. R. 2, also known as the Secure the Border Act, sometime after August recess. Guest said he believes lawmakers will attempt to move forward with H. R. 2 “between now and the end of the year,” Punchbowl News reported.
Republicans are currently seeking to codify President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which have led to the lowest number of illegal border crossings ever recorded.
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Author: Andi Shae Napier
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