Top US Republican Congressman Ed Royce, co-chair of Congressional Caucus on India, who played a leading role in the passage of the historic civil nuclear deal in 2008, would head the powerful Congressional committee on foreign affairs.

As Chairman of the powerful House Foreign Relations Committee, Royce would replace Florida lawmaker Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in the next Congress beginning January next year.

Royce was selected today by the Republican Steering Committee to chair the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 113th Congress.

The decision of the Steering Committee, a group of Republican leaders chaired by Speaker John Boehner, is expected to be ratified by the full Republican Conference.

“After years of sacrifice, Americans are weary of engagement. But while we can’t step away from the many challenges abroad, I’ll be working to see that US policy is smart and focused, and that we make the best use of our limited resources,” Royce said in a statement.

He cited Iran as the “gravest threat” facing the US and its allies and said the US should be pressuring Tehran as hard as it can “to stop its march to nuclear weapons’’.

“Checking nuclear proliferation worldwide will be a key Committee priority,” said Royce, who served as a conferee to the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, and has been a leader in advancing US-Israel relations.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs has jurisdiction over the activities of the State Department, including embassy security.

In his presentation to the Steering Committee, Royce pledged to exercise tough but fair oversight of the Obama Administration.

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