Five House Dems lose seats on Appropriations Committee

Five current House Democratic congressmen, including Chief Deputy Whip Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), have lost their seats on the powerful Appropriations Committee, a Democratic aide said Monday.

As a result of the loss of their majority, Democratic membership on the committee is shrinking from 37 members to 21.

Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), and Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) also lost their places on the committee. The Democratic Steering Committee made the decision on Friday based on seniority on the committee.

Eleven Democrats on the committee either retired or lost their reelection bids in November.

As previously announced, the committee ranking member will be Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.)

Remaining on the committee are: Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), Nita Lowey  (D-N.Y.), José Serrano (D-N.Y.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Jim Moran (D-Va.), John Olver (D-Mass.), Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.), David Price (D-N.C.), Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Michael Honda (D-Calif.), and Betty McCollum (D-Minn.).

Only 29 Republicans will serve on the panel, as part of a Republican pledge to shrink the size of the committee. The GOP also pushed through a 9 percent cut in the committee budget last week.