Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Flake's Place   [David Freddoso]

NRO has learned that the House Republican Steering Committee will appoint Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) to the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, not to the Appropriations Committee, where some conservatives have hoped he'd land. A House Leadership aide tells NRO that the appointment came after Flake requested it in December. Flake realized there was little chance of him being placed on Appropriations, where, as an anti-earmark crusader, he would have been something of a bull in a china shop.

Flake confirmed this account in a conversation moments ago, citing the difficulties he had faced in getting a spot on Appropriations last year. But he added that he would still much rather be on the committee that spends the money.

"After seeing what happened last time, and how many slots there were, I was realistic about [getting on Appropriations]," said Flake. "But I have made it clear to everybody, even today, that my preference was Appropriations. It's nice to be there before the money is appropriated. With Government Reform, it's more of a post-mortem. But that's important for the future, too — and we haven't seen enough of the post-mortem lately."

01/07 03:58 PMShare