By: Jonathan Martin

My colleagues Patrick O’Connor and Ryan Grim have been all over the changes on the Hill, and have a smart look today at what may be the most significant shift of them all:

Henry Waxman’s bloodless coup to oust John Dingell from the top spot on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee upsets a balance that has been in place for almost three decades and may set in motion more bloodletting within that committee.

The era has ended where Dingell and his centrist allies dominated a panel with primary jurisdiction over just about every industry in this country, from utilities to pharmaceuticals, telecommunications to the Michigan Democrat’s beloved auto industry.

The fallout from this fight with Waxman will ripple through Washington for years. But some lawmakers are worried about more immediate aftershocks – Dingell’s subcommittee chairmen are already sending letters hoping to keep their jobs so they can have a hand in an aggressive environmental, energy and health care agenda Waxman is sure to pursue in coordination with the incoming Obama administration.

Following the vote Thursday, environmental groups applauded Waxman’s elevation. Republicans
criticized Democrats for supplanting the more moderate Dingell. And the outgoing chairman’s top allies scrambled to save their own posts atop coveted subcommittees.

Two top Dingell backers – Reps. Gene Green of Texas and Bart Stupak of Michigan – drafted letters shortly after the vote in an early bid to keep their subcommittee chairmanships on the Energy and Commerce panel.

Stupak released an official statement congratulating Waxman that included an explicit appeal to keep his chairmanship on the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee.

And Green, a so-called "Oil Patch Democrat" for his support of the oil and natural gas industry, cautioned any of his colleagues from making any rash judgments in the wake of the election Thursday.

“When you’re married to someone and you have an argument, you need some quiet time,” Green said. “So hopefully we’ll have that over Thanksgiving, and we can come back and (be) willing to work with each other.”

 

Copyright © 2008 Capitol News Company, LLC | Distributed by Noofangle Media