BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley's incoming congressman will find himself in some familiar territory as he begins his new term in Washington.
U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie announced he has been appointed to the U.S. House committees on Education and the Workforce, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security.
“As I approach the upcoming term, I’m looking forward to serving the people of the Greater Lehigh Valley on these committees,” Mackenzie said in a news release.
“The agenda that the voters have demanded is clear — more economic opportunities, lower prices, secure borders and a foreign policy that puts our country first."
Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, got his professional start working for the U.S. Department of Labor.
Before getting elected to the state General Assembly in 2012, he served as director of policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry during Gov. Tom Corbett's administration.
Mackenzie served as the Republican chair of the state House Committee on Labor and Industry in 2023 and 2024.
Border issue
The Homeland Security posting could put Mackenzie at the forefront of a border package — a hot button issue throughout the 2024 presidential campaign.
President-elect Donald Trump squashed a bipartisan deal with union support last year that called for hiring more border agents, cracking down on fentanyl and reworking the asylum process.
Mackenzie opposed the deal on the campaign trail, saying it would have tolerated too many illegal crossings.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., is expected to be the only Pennsylvanian chairing a U.S. House committee in the new year.
Thompson, who represents a rural district stretching from Armstrong County to Tioga County, was elected to lead the Agriculture Committee.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., is expected to be the only Pennsylvania Democrat who will serve as a ranking member next year.
The Philadelphian was elected as the leading Democrat of the Budget Committee.
Mackenzie defeated Democratic incumbent Rep. Susan Wild in Pennsylvania's hotly contested 7th Congressional District, which includes Lehigh and Northampton counties.
He is slated to be sworn into office Jan. 3 — if House members can agree on a new speaker.
Electing a speaker
It remains to be seen which Republican will assume the gavel in the 119th Congress.
The far-right wing of the Republican Party revolted against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in 2023 following a debt ceiling dispute. Republicans eventually rallied around U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
But last week, Johnson clashed with Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump plans to appoint to a new Office of Government Efficiency, after they demanded a two-year reprieve of the debt ceiling.
Ultimately, Congress averted a government shutdown Saturday under a deal that did not suspend the debt ceiling.
But the resulting divide could prevent Johnson from remaining speaker, especially as the Republican majority will shrink from eight to five.
McCarthy, whofaced similar headwinds in 2023, required four days and 15 ballots to be elected speaker. His tenure lasted only nine months.
Mackenzie has voiced support for Johnson to remain as speaker. Johnson became a regular presence at Mackenzie's campaign events during the final weeks of the 2024 election cycle, even greeting voters outside a Bethlehem Township polling place on Election Day.
