For the first time since the 114th Republican-led Congress, it appears that there won't be any women leading House committees, Bloomberg Government reported.
Republicans have already named who they intend to take over each committee, but it won't be official until all members are sworn in on Jan. 3. So, Republicans can make changes before then and ensure there is some female representation in the assignments, but doing so would admit they need more diversity, equity and inclusion.
“It’s unfortunate,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) told Bloomberg. She's currently an assistant whip and on the Ways and Means Committee.
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“We’ve never been the party that was about checking boxes or identity politics, but the difference is we have women that are qualified to be chairs, and I don’t know why there wasn’t one who was able to become a chairperson of a committee," she added.
The only woman who sought a chair post was Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO). She lost to Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL).
There are currently two female committee chairs in this Congress; however, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) is retiring from Congress, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is term limited.
The new Congress also has a more significant gender gap. For the first time in 46 years, there will be fewer women in Congress.
"Part of the challenge for women on the Republican side is that there just are not, frankly, enough women in the institution itself,” said Debbie Walsh, who serves as the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “They start further back when it comes to these leadership positions.”
The report also pointed out the unique influences of the 2024 election.
"It follows an election in which President-elect Donald Trump embraced masculine culture, as epitomized by his courting of podcaster Joe Rogan, who has a fan base of younger men, and the appearance of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan at the Republican National Convention," said Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, some of Trump’s Cabinet picks continue to be "dogged by accusations of sexual misconduct, including his choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who withdrew from consideration for Attorney General."
