Van Drew to lose Democratic Ag committee seat

If Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-.N.J., officially switches parties, as expected, he will lose his Democratic seat on the House Agriculture Committee, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., confirmed Tuesday to The Hagstrom Report.
It’s unclear whether the Republicans would offer Van Drew a seat on the House Agriculture Committee. When House Agriculture Committee ranking member Michael Conaway, R-Texas, was asked at a North American Agricultural Journalists event early this year whether he would favor Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, returning to the committee, Conaway said all the committee seats were filled.
Peterson said he believes that the Democrats will name another Democrat to the Ag committee to fill Van Drew’s seat.
Van Drew has said he will vote against the impeachment of President Donald Trump when that vote comes up today. Peterson, who is also expected to vote against impeachment, said that there is a difference between his very rural district in Minnesota and Van Drew’s mixture of suburban and rural areas.
Trump has encouraged Van Drew’s change of party, but back in his district “he has quickly become anathema to people on both sides of the political divide,” The New York Times reported.