House Republicans and Democrats have selected Committee chairmen and Ranking Members for the 114th Congress, which will convene in January 2015. Boehner and Pelosi announced the committee leadership selections this week. The Committees of most interest to defense include:

Appropriations: Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) remains as chair of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) stays on as the Ranking Democrat. Rogers has been pushing for an Omnibus Appropriations bill to finalize action on FY2015 Appropriations in the lame-duck session.

Armed Services: Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) replaces Rep. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), who will retire at the end of this session, as chair of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Rep. Adam Smith (R-WA) remains as Ranking Minority member. Thornberry is currently the HASC vice-chairman and has served on the House Intelligence Committee.

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) replaces Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) who was an unrelenting investigator of what he considered government wrongdoing. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) remains as Ranking Democrat on the Committee. Chaffetz has been highly critical of recent problems at the U.S. Secret Service and is expected to take a hard look at federal workforce issues.

Homeland Security: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) stay on as chair and Ranking Democrat.

Veterans Affairs: Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) remains as chairman and Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) becomes the new Ranking Democrat on the committee. Brown replaces Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) who is retiring.

Foreign Affairs: Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY) will remain as chair and Ranking of the House Committee Foreign Affairs

Budget Committee: Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) becomes the new chair of the House Budget Committee replacing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) who will become chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) stays on as Ranking Democrat.

With the Republican takeover of the Senate next year many current committee Ranking Republicans will become committee chairs. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) is expected to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is expected to head the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). Formal announcements for Senate Committee leadership positions have not yet been made.