In the aftermath of U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-SC, leaving the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, its chairman decided to replace one Florida congressman with another to serve as his vice chairman.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, replaced U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., with freshman U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., to serve as his understudy. Yoho already had his hands full as chairman of the U.S. House Asia and Pacific Subcommittee.
“I am excited to have Rep. Rooney as our vice chairman,” Royce announced last week. “His previous experience as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and as a successful businessman has been valuable in our efforts to counter global threats, and promote peace and American prosperity abroad.”
Rooney showcased the new assignment on Monday.
“I am honored to be named vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, especially at such a turbulent and pivotal time,” Rooney said. “With significant national security concerns related to North Korea, Iran, Russia, and elsewhere, I look forward to working with Chairman Royce, our committee and our national foreign policy resources to define and secure American interests around the world.”
Despite first being elected to Congress last year, Rooney has solid experience in foreign policy. Besides serving as then President George W. Bush’s ambassador to the Holy See, Rooney also had two stints on the Advisory Commission on the Panama Canal and has written extensively on foreign policy.
Rooney was not the only member of the Foreign Affairs Committee to be promoted in recent days. Royce tapped U.S. Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., to lead the U.S. House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee last week.
“As a former Marine Corps colonel, Rep. Cook is deeply committed to defending U.S. interests worldwide,” Royce said. “I look forward to working with him to continue holding the Castro and Maduro regimes accountable for their brutal repression, while increasing U.S. commercial opportunities throughout the hemisphere.”
