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Cassidy in line for top HELP GOP slot as Paul takes oversight role

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Updated Nov 17, 2022
Bill Cassidy talks to reporters

Cassidy at a news conference outside the Capitol last year. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday he will take the ranking member position on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, setting up Sen. Bill Cassidy to be ranking member of HELP. 

Why it matters: The move averts the high-profile showdown between expected HELP chair Bernie Sanders and Paul, instead elevating the more bipartisan-minded Cassidy.

  • It remains to be seen whether Cassidy can work with a strong progressive like Sanders, though. 

What they're saying: "It is an honor to have this position, not just to have it but to do something with it to serve the people of Louisiana and the United States of America,” Cassidy said in a statement. “I look forward to securing real solutions for issues facing us all."

  • Paul said in his statement that "[t]he Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's mission of oversight & investigations is critical to Congress reasserting itself, & as Ranking Member, I look forward to continuing the storied history of this committee's leadership."

This story has been updated with Cassidy's statement.

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