U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino of the state’s 2nd Congressional District was elected as chair of the House Homeland Security Committee on Monday, July 21.
Garbarino will replace current chairman Mark E. Green of Tennessee, who resigned from Congress on July 20. Green has served as chair of the committee since 2023.
U.S. Reps. Michael Guest, Carlos Gimenez and Clay Higgins, all Republicans, had also sought the position, according to reports.
Green made the announcement that he was stepping away on X, posting a six-minute video on the Fourth of July.
The House Homeland Security Committee is tasked with the security of the United States, including overseeing border security and enforcement, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, emergency management, and transportation security.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that Garbarino’s election as chair is “a big win for New York and America.”
Garbarino is serving his third term in the House, and has served on the House Financial Services Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Ethics Committee.
Created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the House Homeland Security Committee became a standing committee in 2005. The committee has legislative jurisdiction over border and port security, excluding immigration policy and non-border enforcement.
“I am honored to have earned the trust and confidence of my colleagues to lead the House Committee on Homeland Security,” Garbarino said in a statement. “As a lifelong New Yorker and representative of a district shaped by 9/11, I understand the stakes of this responsibility. ‘Never forget’ is more than a slogan. It is a commitment I have carried with me throughout my entire adult life and one that will continue to drive my work as Chairman.”
Garbarino will serve as the seventh chair of the committee.
Garbarino said the committee has “serious work ahead” and mentioned securing the border, confronting terrorism and hardening national defenses as items on his agenda.
The promotion puts Garbarino closer to the center of the Trump administration’s immigration control, which has been in the national spotlight.
The administration’s Big Beautiful Bill was passed earlier this month. It includes $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security, with $75 billion of that funding allocated for ICE.
