Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is vying to fill the seat on the House Financial Services Committee left open by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), who resigned this month to become CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the committee’s responsibilities include overseeing banking, insurance, international finance, housing, and securities. Donalds’ office contends Waters has been “having her way on the committee and it’s time to have a fighter on the committee with real world experience.”
Donalds, an outspoken freshman congressman who represents parts of southwest Florida, spoke to Breitbart News about his 17-year career in finance and banking. He said his experience makes him a prime candidate for the committee, the vacant seat of which will likely will be filled soon by the GOP Steering Committee.
“I have very intimate knowledge of the financial industry from working on the ground … managing insurance portfolios, being an MBA, securities licensed, and being on the front lines when it comes to trading securities on behalf of clients, so I think that that kind of insight is very helpful to the committee,” Donalds said, adding his ability to explain some of the complexities of financial issues will overall bring value to the committee.
Donalds also posted a video on social media Wednesday in which he highlighted his private sector knowledge and railed against President Joe Biden’s tax plan. “I will tell you that if you double the capital gains rate, if you raise our corporate income tax to 28 percent like they want to do, it will make our companies less competitive,” he said. “We will start to see companies begin to leave our shores again”:
One of the main reasons I ran for Congress was to bring our fiscal house in order.
I am here to fight the radical policies of Sen. Sanders and Rep. Waters, who come to work every day to spend YOUR money and increase their power recklessly. pic.twitter.com/rQdImp5pSC
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) May 19, 2021
Other top names being floated to fill the open seat include Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Dan Meuser (R-PA), according to multiple Hill sources.
Sessions, who previously chaired the House Rules Committee for several years, has been in Congress for more than two decades. When asked to confirm that he was indeed seeking to fill the open Financial Services seat, his office said, “Congressman Sessions fully expects his seniority and 22-years of history in Congress to be honored in his committee assignments.”
Meuser, who joined Congress in 2019, currently sits on the Small Business and Foreign Affairs Committees and previously served as secretary of revenue in Pennsylvania.
While a decision about the open seat looms, Donalds told Breitbart News he is making the rounds in an effort to win over his colleagues. When asked about other contenders, he said, “I’m not really focused too much on anybody else. I’m just trying to make my case and see how it shapes out with the Steering Committee.”
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com.
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