There are two main types of congressional committees in the United States House of Representatives, standing committees and select committees. Committee chairs are selected by whichever party is in the majority, and the minority party selects ranking members to lead them. The committees and party conferences may have rules determining term limits for leadership and membership, though waivers can be issued. While the Democrats and Republicans differ on the exact processes by which committee leadership and assignments are chosen, most standing committees are selected by the respective party steering committees and ratified by the party conferences.[1][2] The Ethics, House Administration, Rules and all select committees are chosen by the party leaders (Speaker in the majority and Minority Leader in the minority). Most committees are additionally subdivided into subcommittees, each with its own leadership selected according to the full committee's rules.[3][4] The only standing committee with no subcommittees is the Budget Committee.
The modern House committees were brought into existence through the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. This bill reduced the number of House committees, as well as restructured the committees' jurisdictions.[5]
Each party determines their committees leads, who serve as chair in the majority and ranking member in the minority. The table below lists the tenure of when each member was selected for their current term as committee lead. The Republican party rules stipulate that their leads of standing committees may serve no more than three congressional terms (two years each) as chair or ranking member unless the full party conference grants them a waiver to do so.[9] The current majority party is listed first for each committee.
Rule 14(e)Term limitation.—No individual shall serve more than three consecutive terms as chair or Ranking Member of a standing, select, joint, or ad hoc Committee or Subcommittee.