House committee shakeups to watch for tech policy

House Energy and Commerce Committee

If Democrats take the House:

• Rep. Frank Pallone, former chair, will take the reins again. His office declined to list what his priorities would be, saying he is focused on ensuring Democrats win back the majority.
• As chair, Pallone introduced comprehensive privacy legislation of his own and, as ranking member, he went after data brokers profiting from sensitive information in a bill he worked on with Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
• Pallone has raised concerns with KOSA, and took issue with Republican leadership interfering with the committee's work on the American Privacy Rights Act.
• Expect him to keep pushing for his version of the best protections for kids and all Americans' privacy.

If Republicans hold the House:

• Rep. Bob Latta, chair of the tech subcommittee, and Rep. Brett Guthrie, chair of the health subcommittee, are vying for the top spot.
• Latta in an interview listed his tech priorities as renewing the FCC's spectrum authority, funding rip and replace, tackling robocalls and making sure billions of dollars in broadband funding are deployed effectively.
• Guthrie wasn't available for an interview, but his office said in an email his priorities would be to protect critical infrastructure from foreign adversaries and beat China to 6G, streamline permitting to connect more Americans to broadband, renew the FCC's spectrum authority and counter foreign adversaries stealing American technologies.
• Pallone would likely continue to be ranking member.

House Judiciary Committee

If Democrats take the House:

• Rep. Jerry Nadler is almost certain to re-take the reins as chair and continue his focus on democracy, government accountability and reproductive rights.
• He's been supportive of Big Tech antitrust efforts in the past, but it hasn't been his main priority.
• Other Dems to watch include Rep. Lou Correa and Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
• Correa has been atop the antitrust subcommittee while being very skeptical of Big Tech antitrust action, but could vie to run the IP panel instead. Jayapal will probably want to keep leading the immigration subcommittee, but has been a leading voice on tech antitrust in the past.

If Republicans hold the House:

• Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to keep the top spot.
• In that case, expect a lot more criticism of social media companies for alleged censorship, accusations of government corruption by way of Democrats and skepticism of institutions like CISA and the FBI.
• Nadler would likely continue to be ranking Democratic member.

House Science Committee

If Democrats take the House:

• Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren wants to be chair, her office said. Lofgren represents Silicon Valley and has authored legislation to protect people's data from government surveillance.
• Lofgren has also helped introduce legislation to ensure foreign adversaries don't have access to CHIPS funding, and she's likely to continue oversight of the law as chair.
• She is also expected to keep pushing for National Quantum Initiative Act reauthorization if Congress lets its expiration continue into next year.

If Republicans hold the House:

• Committee Chair Frank Lucas is termed out after six years and is now running to be chair of the Financial Services Committee.

• Rep. Brian Babin has expressed interest in taking over House Science.
• Babin is chair of the space and aeronautics subcommittee and has conducted CHIPS and Science Act oversight hearings where he's warned against burdening local governments and industry partners with cumbersome regulations and paperwork.

House China Select Committee

If Democrats take the House:

• Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, who helped get the TikTok divest-or-ban bill through Congress, is the natural fit for chair if the select committee exists next year.
• A China hawk, Krishnamoorthi frequently warns that Chinese companies are subject to Beijing's national security law, requiring them to be instruments for foreign intelligence collection.
• He also claims that "every single" Chinese company has a communist party cell embedded in management to run the company and make sure it complies with what the government wants, as he said during a recent AEI event.

If Republicans hold the House:

• House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would want to keep the committee alive, though it's not set in stone that he would be the speaker given Republican infighting.
• If Johnson retains his position and the select committee survives, then Rep. John Moolenaar is likely to stay as chair. Moolenaar was recently appointed after former Rep. Mike Gallagher retired to work for Palantir.
• Moolenaar backs AI export controls as a way to protect national security and compete with China.
• He has also advocated for expanding CFIUS jurisdiction to include foreign companies entering critical U.S. industries.