The House Republican Conference has chosen Ken Calvert to replace fellow California Republican John T. Doolittle on the Appropriations Committee.

Doolittle stepped down under pressure April 19, less than 24 hours after reports surfaced that the FBI had raided his home in suburban Virginia on April 13.

Republican aides said GOP leaders had made it clear that if Doolittle did not quit on his own, he would have been forced off by a caucus weary of scandals such as the one involving former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham of California, an appropriator who pleaded guilty in 2005 to bribery charges and resigned from Congress.

Watchdog groups also have raised concerns about Calvert, citing real estate holdings that drew scrutiny in 2006, when the Los Angeles Times reported that he and a partner held numerous properties near transportation projects that Calvert had supported with federal earmarks.

Some of the properties had sold for fat profits. Calvert denied any wrongdoing.

Republicans also filled several other committee slots, naming Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., to the Foreign Affairs Committee; Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Armed Services; Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., Financial Services; Mary Fallin, R-Okla., and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Natural Resources; and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Oversight and Government Reform.