Rep. Claudia Tenney’s late arrival in Congress costs her a prime committee seat

Claudia Tenney

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, began her first term in office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. After losing the 2018 election, she won the seat back by 109 votes.Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Washington – Rep. Claudia Tenney, the last member of Congress to be seated after the 2020 election, is paying a price for her late arrival in the House.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, failed in her bid for a seat on the influential House Appropriations Committee, which controls billions of dollars in federal spending each year.

Instead, House Republican leaders assigned Tenney to open seats on two committees with lower profiles – the Foreign Affairs Committee and Small Business Committee.

Tenney said she will use her posts on those committees to advocate for businesses in Upstate New York’s 22nd Congressional District, protect American workers and counter China’s trade policies toward the United States.

Tenney said she will also work on the Foreign Affairs Committee to represent the interests of the district’s diverse refugee population from countries that include Bosnia, Myanmar (Burma) and Vietnam.

“Many of the refugees in my district fled violence or persecution,” Tenney said in a statement. “I am proud to represent these communities and will stand with them on the committee to advocate for democracy and respect for human rights around the world.”

Tenney was sworn into office Feb. 11 after a legal battle against former Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, that lasted three months after the Nov. 3 election.

The 22nd District seat was left vacant when House members took office on Jan. 3, pending the outcome of the court battle. The other House members received their committee assignments in the weeks that the eight-county district had no representation in Congress.

A state Supreme Court judge ordered county election boards in the 22nd District to certify the election on Feb. 5, with the final results showing Tenney had won by 109 votes.

Brindisi conceded the following week and dropped his appeal for a full hand re-count of all 326,568 ballots cast in the election.

During his one term in office, Brindisi served on the House Armed Services Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee and Agriculture Committee.

The 22nd District spans all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and portions of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties.

MORE ON THE NY-22 ELECTION

Oneida County elections commissioners resign after NY-22 mistakes

Rep. Claudia Tenney sworn into office to represent NY-22 in Congress

The race for NY-22 is over, but it made history for all the wrong reasons

Brindisi: New York should investigate ‘massive disenfranchisement of voters

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