Andrew Garbarino selected to chair House Homeland Security Committee

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) is slated to be the next chair of the House Homeland Security Committee after winning the nod from a panel of leaders in the House GOP on Monday night.

Garbarino beat out four other contenders for the chairmanship in a vote by the House Steering Committee -- a panel that includes members of Republican leadership and other elected regional representatives from across the conference. His nomination is set to be referred to the full House GOP Conference, which typically green-lights the Steering Committee's picks without issue.

The position was opened up due to the departure of former Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who had led the panel since 2023. Green's resignation for an "opportunity in the private sector" — which he explicitly delayed until after passage of President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" of tax cut and spending priorities — became official on Monday.

Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) had also sought the position. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had said the group had created "quite a horse race," and later said every candidate was "highly qualified."

Garbarino, who is well-liked among members of the Steering Committee, won the nod on the second ballot after Guest had fallen off the first ballot, according to a source.

The panel is tasked with oversight of the Department of Homeland Security — a major department that is not only carrying out Trump's aggressive immigration agenda, but combating terrorism and ensuring cybersecurity. 

Speaking to The Hill last week, Garbarino talked about the committee's role in addressing terrorism as well as many other nonimmigration policy issues like disaster response. 

"The committee has a lot of different jurisdictions. Border has been something we've been focusing on for the last two and a half years. It's important, and that's something we had to focus on, and we still have to focus on it, especially with oversight of the money and the authorizations" included in the "big, beautiful bill," Garbarino said.

Mychael Schnell contributed.