House Democrats are being pressed for support by both Reps. Henry Waxman
(D-CA) and John Dingell (D-MI) for chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce
(E&C) Committee. As previously
reported, Waxman - a liberal ally of Speaker Pelosi and current Chairman of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - is seeking to take the job
from Dingell, the House's longest serving Member and an influential
supporter of Detroit's automakers.
Waxman has been flying "under the
radar" regarding the race, declining
to reveal his supporters or the makeup of his whip team. Dingell, on the other hand, is making his
fight in public. After anonymous Waxman
allies claimed to have the race wrapped up, three lawmakers backing the 27-term
Dingell arranged a media conference to rebut the assertion. Dingell has also sent a letter to each
Member of the Democratic Caucus asking them for support and announced a 26-member whip team to assist his
effort.
From conversations Morgan Meguire
has had with several House E&C Committee staff, there is general
recognition that Dingell is a formidable force, but they also note that Waxman
is very smart and would be hesitant to get into a fight like this unless he had
been given some assurance of victory.
There is little doubt that Pelosi is behind the Waxman bid, though
offices we spoke with have not received calls from the Speaker on the
matter. Two "wildcards" are whether the
many new Democratic House Members feel more obliged to Dingell or to Pelosi,
and how the secret ballot vote will affect the outcome of the election. The election will be held sometime this week.