WASHINGTON – More than two months into the 119th Congress, Alabama’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives are focused on the nation’s defense, health care, homeland security and energy policies.
Rep. Robert Aderholt
As the current longest-serving Alabamian in Congress, Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, plays a crucial role in funding the government as an appropriations cardinal overseeing the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. He said he looks forward to helping the Trump administration administer cuts to federal agencies.
Aderholt is an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump’s policies, introducing legislation to designate English as the official language of the United States after Trump signed an executive order declaring it. He also cosponsored legislation to end birthright citizenship.
The congressman is also focused on family values issues and is co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption. He joined a bipartisan letter last week calling on the Trump administration to engage with China to reverse its suspension of inter-country adoption. Aderholt also led an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court to support parents’ religious freedoms when it comes to children’s lessons in school that could contradict their religious values.
Aderholt chairs the Values Action Team, which is focused on domestic policy matters that involve families and the First Amendment.
Rep. Mike Rogers
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, is focused on his work to increase defense spending, which is a part of the recently-enacted continuing resolution and the budget resolution passed by the House past month. As chair, he wants to arm the military to deter threats from other countries like Russia, China, and Iran.
Rogers also asked the military branches to find ways to cut waste as part of DOGE’s larger efforts to slash the federal government. He also supports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to focus the military on lethality.
Rogers has said “border security is national security” and recently led a Congressional delegation to Guantanamo Bay where some migrants were being held, but they have since been moved, the Associated Press reported.
He’s also playing a pivotal role in working to bring the Space Command headquarters to Huntsville. Rogers has said he’s confident Trump will bring it to Redstone Arsenal once a Secretary of the Air Force is confirmed.
Rep. Terri Sewell
Sewell, who has been in Congress since 2011, made history this year becoming the first Black woman to be Ranking Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight. As a member of the powerful tax-writing committee, she will be on the defense as Republicans try to extend Trump’s tax cuts.
Sewell has been at the forefront of fighting against the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government. She led a letter of House Democrats to the IRS Acting Commissioner calling for more information on what DOGE accessed from the Treasury payment system. Sewell has warned against cuts to the Social Security Administration and its impact on Alabama workers and its beneficiaries.
Sewell reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and is again pushing for the Rosa Parks Day Act. She also joined with Republicans in reintroducing cancer screening legislation named in honor of her late mother.
The congresswoman is also speaking out against possible cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in the GOP’s budget plan and hosted a Medicaid Day of Action Roundtable in Selma during the recess last week.
Rep. Gary Palmer
Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, entered office in 2014, and now serves on two powerful committees: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Palmer is focused on oversight of the federal government, rolling back regulations made during the Biden administration and bolstering U.S. energy production.
His legislation rolling back a Biden administration rule restricting natural gas water heaters passed the House mostly along party lines last month.
As chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations under the Energy and Commerce Committee, Palmer said he’s committed to ensuring taxpayer money is spent wisely.
“This hearing is only one step of many to ensure that wasteful spending is curbed, and we hope to continue our collaboration with the (Office of Inspector General), (Government Accountability Office) and the current administration to address this issue,” Palmer said in opening remarks during a hearing on “Examining the Biden-Harris Administration’s Energy and Environment Spending Push.”
Palmer introduced the New Health Options Act which would create a separate health insurance marketplace from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The bill requires the disclosure of lower cash prices.
Rep. Barry Moore
Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, sits on the Judiciary and Agriculture committees, and is a member of the Freedom Caucus. His bill to deport undocumented immigrants who are convicted or admit to driving while drunk passed the Judiciary Committee last month.
Moore is a staunch ally of Trump and supports his efforts to tackle illegal immigration and shrink the federal government. He reintroduced a bipartisan bill, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025, that requires federal agencies to include other transaction agreements on the USASpedning.gov website which lists federal awards online.
“Federal agencies should be disclosing every taxpayer dollar they spend, especially as we close in on $35 trillion in national debt,” Moore said in a statement on the legislation.
Most recently, Moore said he was joining a fellow House Republican in supporting legislation to impeach the judge who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation flights case.
Rep. Dale Strong
Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, added the powerful Appropriations Committee to his committee roster this Congress, along with serving on the Homeland Security Committee.
His three bills focused on combatting foreign interference in the United States passed the House this month. Strong has prioritized legislation to secure the homeland and is vocal in his support of Trump’s immigration policies. He’s also chairing the Emergency Management and Technology Subcommittee this Congress and wants to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As the representative for Redstone Arsenal and thousands of federal workers, Strong has remained optimistic that DOGE will not cause significant harm to his district. Instead, he thinks the Trump administration’s efforts to boost national defense, such as creating a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense shield, will boost the federal presence in Huntsville. He is also persistent in pushing for Space Command to come to Huntsville through communication with the Trump administration.
Rep. Shomari Figures
Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, changed the makeup of Alabama’s delegation this year giving Democrats two seats in the House.
As the minority party in the House, Figures and Democrats are playing defense against Trump, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Alabama’s Democrats have been vocal about the Trump administration’s effort to strip away diversity initiatives and civil rights history, such as on the now-reversed decisions to rid the Air Force curriculum of Tuskegee Airmen and to cut the USDA 1890 Scholars Program.
As a member of the Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, Figures is focused on infrastructure projects in his district such as the Bayway project. He’s also spoken out against possible cuts to food assistance programs and Medicaid under the GOP-led budget resolution.
Figures’ other big push is tackling health care challenges in the state, especially rural hospitals. He is a cosponsor of legislation named the Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-eligible Residents Now Act that would allow local governments to provide health care for people in states, including Alabama, that haven’t expanded Medicaid.
His first sponsored piece of legislation is a bill to require Congressional approval if the federal government intends to sell landmarks listed on the National Register of Historic Places after the Freedom Rides Museum appeared on a now-deleted list of properties listed for sale. The building is no longer for sale.