Cruz backer Mike Lee snags spot on convention rules committee 
By
Kyle Cheney 05/03/16 07:07 PM EDT
Utah Sen. Mike Lee has been named to the Republican national convention Rules Committee, a post that gives Ted Cruz an influential ally — and prolific attorney – on the powerful panel.
The Convention Rules Committee will set the terms by which the presidential nomination will be decided at the national convention in Cleveland — and potentially in the 2020 campaign as well. Lee’s presence adds an experienced litigator to champion Cruz’s arguments and potentially pushback on the legal interpretations offered by rival delegates or the RNC’s counsel.
In 2016, the panel could be the front line in any last ditch attempt to wrest the Republican nomination from Donald Trump. Though it’s considered unlikely, the panel has broad authority to rewrite rules to free convention delegates from being bound to primary results and vote their conscience, which could tilt the convention away from Trump.
Lee’s wife Sharon will be the second Utahan on the 112-member rules committee, which includes a man and a woman from every state and territory. Committee members must already be chosen as delegates to the national convention and elected by a majority of their fellow delegation members.
Most of the Convention Rules Committee has yet to be selected, since many national convention delegations are still being picked in state and local contests. POLITICO has confirmed the identity of 22 Rules Committee members, and among them are at least six Cruz supporters, compared to three Trump and Three Kasich supporters. Two Rubio delegates are on the panel as well, and five Republican National Committee members who haven’t formally endorsed candidates. Three other members haven’t declared a candidate preference yet.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/twelve-thirty-seven/2016/05/mike-lee-convention-rules-committee-222758#ixzz498gBUmx5
