WASHINGTON — Rep. Bob Dold, R-lll., won a coveted slot on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, replacing former Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., who resigned last month and now faces a criminal probe of his spending of taxpayer and campaign funds.
The House Republican Steering Committee handed the plum to Dold, said his chief of staff, James Slepian. “The issues he hears most frequently about are the economy, taxes and health care,” said Slepian, all areas under the Ways and Means panel jurisdiction.
Dold is a major Democratic target in 2016, and a Ways and Means seat is helpful for fundraising.
In 2014, Dold won back the north suburban 10th Congressional District seat he lost in 2012 to former Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill.
Schneider has already announced a 2016 comeback bid and faces a Democratic primary with Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
Dold will have to surrender the seat he now has on the Financial Services Committee in order to join Ways and Means.
Other Illinois lawmakers on Ways and Means are Republican Rep. Peter Roskam and Democrat Danny Davis.
Schock is the subject of a federal criminal investigation. Five Schock staffers plus others have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.
