The Republican Steering Committee on Tuesday chose Rep. Kevin Yoder to become the next chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security.
If confirmed by the full Republican Conference, the move would give the Kansas Republican responsibility for authoring legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security and establish priorities for border security, immigration enforcement, counterterrorism, drug and human trafficking and other issues.
Yoder said he was "humbled" by the recognition from his colleagues.
“In my years in Congress, I’ve traveled to our Southern border and have seen the work that must be done,” Yoder said in a statement to McClatchy. “We must keep drugs and criminals out of our country to ensure that every family in every corner of America feels safe when they lay their head down to sleep at night.”
Yoder has played a significant role in immigration, working on border security issues and leading a proposal to protect high skilled immigrants by eliminating country-based quotas that limit how many Indian and Chinese can get green cards each year.
Yoder will replace outgoing chairman John Carter, R-Texas, who will take over as the new chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez