With less than two weeks to go before the House Republican Steering Committee chooses committee chairs for the 119th Congress, the race to wield the gavel of the Foreign Affairs Committee is down to three lawmakers.
With incumbent Chair Mike McCaul, R-Texas, "termed out" after three two-year terms, sources with the House GOP Conference say it is unlikely he will get a waiver permitting him to chair Foreign Affairs a fourth time.
So the contest is between Republican Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Ann Wagner of Missouri, and Darrell Issa of California. All are well liked by fellow conservatives, but recent signs indicate Wilson — age 77 and a U.S. representative since 2001 — has the edge in the closing days of a genuinely "insider" campaign.
Under the rules of the House Republican Conference, the Steering Committee has 33 members. House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has four votes, Majority Leader Steve Scalise has two, and the remaining 31 members have one vote each.
Lawmakers are tight-lipped about their leanings for the positions, but some lawmakers indicated that Johnson and Scalise have sent "positive signals" about Wilson.
For his part, the South Carolinian did not discuss strategy or his chances with Newsmax but preferred to focus on foreign policy itself — and, given the present international turmoil, his desire to chair a panel that is increasingly important.
"I want to be chairman to back up the Trump agenda and build up the success he had with peace through strength in his first term," said Wilson, "and I am anxious to work with his appointees."
The congressman mentioned Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state; Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador; Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump's pick for national security adviser; and former Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, Trump's pick for CIA director.
"I've served with all of them [in Congress]," he said, "and I can say they are all pretty remarkable people."
At a point when many believe Trump as president would seek a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war, Wilson feels very good about working with the incoming president on a solution that preserves the sovereignty of Ukraine.
Trump's recent statements on Ukraine notwithstanding, Wilson pointed out it was "President Trump who approved Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in 2019, and agreed to increase the permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland in 2020.
"[Trump] understands what he is dealing with in Putin," he said.
There has never been any question of where Wilson stands on dealing with the Russian strongman. In his words, "the true goal of Putin is to restore the Soviet Union, period."
"He seized South Ossetia from Georgia [in 2009], has a military presence in Moldova [in the state of Transnistria, recognized as part of Moldova], and started a war with Ukraine in 2022," he said.
"Putin cites his own version of history and claims Ukraine did not exist as an independent country. This is the same as the ayatollah saying Israel did not exist, and he wants to recreate the Persian Empire. Or Xi Jinping saying Taiwan doesn't exist. He wants to recreate Imperial China. It's all the same with dictators like them."
Wilson has the highest respect for his competitors, and notes that Wagner was ambassador to Luxembourg under George W. Bush and that Issa was a highly aggressive chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
As to what distinguishes him from his two rivals, Wilson points to his record as "co-chair of more than 20 caucuses representing different countries around the world — from Bangladesh to Georgia." Foreign leaders and citizens of the countries of which Wilson co-chairs their caucus in the House inevitably turn to him for advice and assistance.
It has been said that foreign policy "is discussed for perhaps 20 to 30 minutes" in a presidential campaign. This year, given the developments in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan, foreign policy was discussed a bit more and will surely be an important part of the agenda of the next president and Congress, hence the importance of who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.