Vermont’s first-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to secure a seat on one of the chamber’s most high-profile panels.
The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on Monday recommended that U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., serve on the House Judiciary Committee, her office announced that evening. The move would be finalized following a vote by fellow Democrats and then the full House, according to Balint spokesperson Sophie Pollock, though those votes are largely a formality.
Balint would replace former Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who resigned from Congress earlier this month to lead a charitable organization in his home state.
In a written statement released by Balint’s office, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the Vermont representative would be “a strong voice” on the committee and that he looked forward to working with her “to fight back against MAGA extremism and continue putting People Over Politics.”
Balint had already been named to two plum posts since taking office in January — on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Budget Committee. She would likely have to step down from one of those panels upon joining the judiciary committee, but Pollock said that decision had yet to be finalized.
Balint would be one of the only first-year members to serve on the committee, which has become a key battleground in the Republican-controlled House’s efforts to undermine the Biden administration and protect former President Donald Trump from the criminal justice system. The panel is led by the conservative firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and includes other members of the House Freedom Caucus, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fl., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
The committee is expected to hear from a number of high-profile witnesses this summer in what are likely to be contentious hearings. They include FBI Director Christopher Wray and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, both of whom have been targeted by House Republicans, as well as former special counsel John Durham, who the Trump administration charged with investigating the Department of Justice’s investigations of Trump. The committee has also been seeking documents related to the FBI’s search of Florida’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump’s primary residence.
In a written statement Monday, Balint said she hoped to focus on a different set of priorities.
“I’m ready to get to work on some of the most pressing issues facing American families today – reproductive rights, criminal justice, gun violence, democracy and voting rights, and LGBTQI+ rights,” she said. “Protecting civil liberties has always been at the core of my career and Judiciary Democrats have been steadfast in the fight against continued attacks on our democratic values.”
Balint’s office noted that Cicilline had been the sole openly gay member of the committee and that she would fill that role, too. She hailed him as one of the House’s “strongest champions for LGBTQI+ rights” and said she looked forward to “continuing his legacy on the committee.”
