House GOP Will Have More Guys Named 'Mike' Than Women Chairing Committees

Sep 21, 2023

The House of Representatives is set to have more members of Congress named "Mike" than women serving as committee chairs under the new Republican majority.

Following the election of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, the chamber is continuing to organize and set up committees, which are involved in drafting legislation, conducting hearings, and providing oversight of government agencies.

The House is set to have 22 committees in the new 118th Congress, not including join committees with the US Senate.

That includes a new Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party — known colloquially as the Select Committee on China — that's set to be established by a House vote on Tuesday.

Lawmakers typically ascend to the top of committees through a combination of seniority and decisions made by party leadership. On Monday, House Republicans sorted out a number of contested chairmanships, and House Majority Steve Scalise released a list of recommendations for chairmanships that were ratified by the conference on Tuesday.

The result: men named "Mike" will outnumber women two-to-one among committee chairs.

The six incoming committee chairs named Mike or Michael include:

The three incoming committee chairs who are women include:

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, 33 of the 222 Republicans now serving in the House are women — a record high driven by efforts by Republicans leaders like McCarthy and House GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik to recruit more female candidates.

Meanwhile, 91 of the 212 House Democrats are women. Under Democratic leadership in the previous Congress, 7 House committees were chaired by women.