The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required.
In the 115th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, and the ranking minority member is Democrat John Conyers of Michigan. In prior years, Lamar S. Smith of Texas was the chairman, and prior to that John Conyers served as chairman.
The committee was created on June 6, 1813 for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved articles of impeachment against Presidents in three instances: the impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868), the impeachment process against Richard Nixon (1974), and the impeachment of Bill Clinton (1998).
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