Flake Hopes To Be Earmarked For Appropriations

The House Republican Steering Committee is set to convene this week to fill a vacancy on the powerful Appropriations Committee. 

And many suggest House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who has outsize influence on the panel, will use the pick to elevate a member who does not request earmarks, giving Boehner even more credibility in his drive to limit the number of lawmaker-requested projects in the annual spending bills. 

In a letter to Boehner, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the unquestioned anti-earmark champion on Capitol Hill, suggested the issue is something congressional Republicans can use to tether themselves to Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOP’s front-running presidential contender. 

“If Republicans in Congress embrace reform and apply the principles set out by our party’s standard-bearer on this issue, my appointment to the Appropriations Committee would only aggravate those who remain wedded to the status quo,” Flake wrote.  

Flake has waged his own bid for a seat on the spending committee as the staunch opponent of these member-requested projects, but his late appeal might not be enough for a Republican whom Boehner has already stripped of one committee assignment for regularly speaking out against party leaders.  

In fact, that long-shot status might explain Flake’s closing line: “During your tenure in Congress, you have continually disproved the persistent myth that members must rely on earmarks in order to be reelected. Earmarks hardly guarantee electoral success. In fact, our party’s success on Election Day this year may depend upon our ability to resist earmarks.”  

Boehner has never requested an earmark during his nearly 28 years in Congress, a rare distinction that few share — making this next selection even more difficult for the Republican leader.