Defense News reports that “the US House Armed Services Committee faces a shake-up in the Nov. 8 election that will affect defense policy and dollars. Aside from any additional members possibly voted out of office, the committee is sure to lose 10 members, including the chairmen of the Seapower and Military Personnel subcommittees.”

“The vacancies, depending on how they are filled, could open up other vacancies and opportunities for lawmakers. While House Armed Services Chair Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, plans to get through elections and negotiations over the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act first, staffers say, there has been some conjecture about which lawmakers are in the running.”

“Seapower Subcommittee Chair Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., was unseated in the Republican primary after redistricting altered his district and he ran in an adjacent one. That may potentially set off a domino effect of open subcommittee chairs. Forbes has championed a 350-ship Navy as the chairman and lately as an adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign; his successor will have to decide whether to carry that torch, too.”