Standing committee | |
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Active![]() United States House of Representatives 116th Congress | |
History | |
Formed | June 6, 1813 |
Leadership | |
Chair | Jerrold Nadler (D) Since January 3, 2019 |
Ranking member | Jim Jordan (R) Since March 12, 2020 |
Vice chair | Mary Gay Scanlon (D) Since January 3, 2019 |
Structure | |
Seats | 41 |
Political parties | Majority (24)
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Jurisdiction | |
Senate counterpart | Senate Committee on the Judiciary |
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required.
In the 116th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Democrat Jerry Nadler of New York,[1] and the ranking minority member is Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio.
The committee was created on June 3, 1813[2] for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved articles of impeachment against Presidents in four instances: Andrew Johnson (1867 and 1868), Richard Nixon (1974), Bill Clinton (1998), and Donald Trump (2019).
In the 115th Congress, the chairman of the committee was Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, and the ranking minority member was initially Democrat John Conyers of Michigan. On November 26, 2017, Conyers stepped down from his position as ranking member, while he faced an ethics investigation.[3] On November 28, 2017, Jerrold Nadler of New York was named as acting ranking member.
In the 116th Congress, the House flipped from Republican to Democratic control. Doug Collins, a Republican from Georgia's 9th congressional district, became ranking member and served from 2019 to 2020. In early 2020, Collins stepped down from his leadership position when he became a candidate in the 2020 special election held to replace retiring Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. Under House Republican rules, members must relinquish leadership positions if they launch a bid for another office.[4] Collins was succeeded as ranking member by Jim Jordan, who represents Ohio's 4th congressional district.
Majority | Minority |
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Sources: H.Res. 24 (Chair), H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 46 (D), H.Res. 68 (R), H.Res. 903 (R), H.Res. 1037 (R)
Majority | Minority |
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Sources: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 45 (D), H.Res. 51 (R) and H.Res. 95 (D)
Majority | Minority |
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Majority | Minority |
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Majority | Minority |
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Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member[6] |
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Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law | David Cicilline (D-RI) | Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) |
The Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties | Steve Cohen (D-TN) | Mike Johnson (R-LA) |
Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security | Karen Bass (D-CA) | John Ratcliffe (R-TX) |
Immigration and Citizenship | Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) | Ken Buck (R-CO) |
Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet | Hank Johnson (D-GA) | Martha Roby (R-AL) |
Chairman: Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI); Ranking member: John Conyers (D-MI)
The Antitrust Task Force during the 108th Congress existed from March 26, 2003, to September 26, 2003. All Judiciary Committee Members also served as members of the Task Force,[7] and conducted hearings and investigations into consolidation of the Bell Telephone Companies.[8]
Chairman: John Conyers (D-MI); Ranking member: Steve Chabot (R-OH)
The Antitrust Task Force during the 110th Congress was established February 28, 2007, as a temporary subcommittee to examine the pending merger between XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.[9] The task force operated like any other subcommittee, except that it only has a six-month term. House Rules limit each full committee to just five subcommittees, and any task force, special subcommittee, or other subunit of a standing committee that is established for a cumulative period longer than six months in a Congress counts against that total.[10] A longer term for the task force would cause the Judiciary Committee to exceed this limit.
Chairman: Adam Schiff (D-CA);[11] Ranking member: Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)[11]
Established in September 2008,[12] the Judicial Task force on Judicial Impeachment was to look into charges against District Judge Thomas Porteous.[12] The investigation was not completed by the end of the 110th Congress, and it was reestablished after the 111th Congress convened in January 2009.[13] The responsibilities of the Task Force were expanded to include the case of Judge Samuel B. Kent,[14] leading to hearings[15] and his subsequent impeachment by the full House of Representatives.[16] The Task force finally voted to impeach Porteous on January 21, 2010.
Chairman | Party | State | Years |
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Charles J. Ingersoll | Democratic-Republican | Pennsylvania | 1813 - 1815 |
Hugh Nelson | Democratic-Republican | Virginia | 1815 - 1819 |
John Sergeant | Democratic-Republican | Pennsylvania | 1819 - 1822 |
Hugh Nelson | Democratic-Republican | Virginia | 1822 - 1823 |
Daniel Webster | Federalist | Massachusetts | 1823 - 1827 |
Philip P. Barbour | Democratic | Virginia | 1827 - 1829 |
James Buchanan | Democratic | Pennsylvania | 1829 - 1831 |
Warren R. Davis | Democratic | South Carolina | 1831 - 1832 |
John Bell | Democratic | Tennessee | 1832 - 1834 |
Thomas F. Foster | Whig | Georgia | 1834 - 1835 |
Samuel Beardsley | Democratic | New York | 1835 - 1836 |
Francis Thomas | Democratic | Maryland | 1836 - 1839 |
John Sergeant | Whig | Pennsylvania | 1839 - 1841 |
Daniel D. Barnard | Whig | New York | 1841 - 1843 |
William Wilkins | Democratic | Pennsylvania | 1843 - 1844 |
Romulus M. Saunders | Democratic | North Carolina | 1844 - 1845 |
George O. Rathbun | Democratic | New York | 1845 - 1847 |
Joseph R. Ingersoll | Whig | Pennsylvania | 1847 - 1849 |
James Thompson | Democratic | Pennsylvania | 1849 - 1851 |
James X. McLanahan | Democratic | Pennsylvania | 1851 - 1853 |
Frederick P. Stanton | Democratic | Tennessee | 1853 - 1855 |
George A. Simmons | Whig & Republican | New York | 1855 - 1857 |
George S. Houston | Democratic | Alabama | 1857 - 1859 |
John Hickman | Republican | Pennsylvania | 1859 - 1863 |
James F. Wilson | Republican | Iowa | 1863 - 1869 |
John A. Bingham | Republican | Ohio | 1869 - 1873 |
Benjamin F. Butler | Republican | Massachusetts | 1873 - 1875 |
James P. Knott | Democratic | Kentucky | 1875 - 1881 |
Thomas Brackett Reed | Republican | Maine | 1881 - 1883 |
John R. Tucker | Democratic | Virginia | 1883 - 1887 |
David B. Culberson | Democratic | Texas | 1887 - 1889 |
Ezra B. Taylor | Republican | Ohio | 1889 - 1891 |
David B. Culberson | Democratic | Texas | 1891 - 1895 |
David B. Henderson | Republican | Iowa | 1895 - 1899 |
George W. Ray | Republican | New York | 1899 - 1903 |
John J. Jenkins | Republican | Wisconsin | 1903 - 1909 |
Richard W. Parker | Republican | New Jersey | 1909 - 1911 |
Henry De Lamar Clayton | Democratic | Alabama | 1911 - 1914 |
Edwin Y. Webb | Democratic | North Carolina | 1914 - 1919 |
Andrew J. Volstead | Republican | Minnesota | 1919 - 1923 |
George S. Graham | Republican | Pennsylvania | 1923 - 1931 |
Hatton W. Sumners | Democratic | Texas | 1931 - 1947 |
Earl C. Michener | Republican | Michigan | 1947 - 1949 |
Emanuel Celler | Democratic | New York | 1949 - 1953 |
Chauncey W. Reed | Republican | Illinois | 1953 - 1955 |
Emanuel Celler | Democratic | New York | 1955 - 1973 |
Peter W. Rodino Jr. | Democratic | New Jersey | 1973 - 1989 |
Jack Brooks | Democratic | Texas | 1989 - 1995 |
Henry Hyde | Republican | Illinois | 1995 - 2001 |
Jim Sensenbrenner | Republican | Wisconsin | 2001 - 2007 |
John Conyers | Democratic | Michigan | 2007 - 2011 |
Lamar Smith | Republican | Texas | 2011 - 2013 |
Bob Goodlatte | Republican | Virginia | 2013 - 2019 |
Jerrold Nadler | Democratic | New York | 2019 - present |
In action so rare it has been carried out only 14 times since 1803, the House on Friday impeached a federal judge -- imprisoned U.S. District Court Judge Samuel B. Kent...