House GOP will fill vacant panel seats in two weeks

The House Republican Conference will meet the week of Feb. 11 to fill vacant committee positions, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Hill.

"It's the intention at that point to fill the Appropriations vacancy, the vacancies on [Transportation and Infrastructure], [Veterans’ Affairs], and Financial Services as a result of Rep. [Richard] Baker's (R-La.) departure, and any other vacancies we have as a result of filling these," the note from Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to Steering Committee members stated.

{mosads}Baker recently announced his retirement after accepting the position of president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association. He will assume the position in February.

The seat on the spending panel left open by the departure of ex-Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who replaced retired Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), has set off a hotly contested seven-way race for the post.

GOP Reps. Dave Reichert (Wash.), Tom Cole (Okla.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Marilyn Musgrave (Colo.), Henry Brown Jr. (S.C.), Jo Bonner (Ala.) and Michael Turner (Ohio) declared their intentions to run earlier this month.