Blackwater interrogator wins D.C. battle

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:28:16 -0500

Chatter on Capitol Hill today is all about the totally-inside-the-Beltway battle between U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman and John Dingell for control of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

There was a secret vote in the House Democratic caucus today on whether to oust Dingell — the body’s longest-serving member — from the post he has held for 27 years, Barb Barrett reports.

The vote pitted Dingell, the Michigan congressman who has used his post to champion the auto industry, against Waxman, the California congressman with strong environmental leanings.

N&O readers may know Waxman as the current chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he hauled Blackwater USA chief Erik Prince in front of cameras for a packed hearing on private security contractors.

With Barack Obama coming in as president, the oversight chairmanship didn't look as juicy.

The Energy and Commerce committee, though, has jurisdiction over energy issues and global climate-change legislation, so the chairman would help shape whatever bill emerges from committee.

Democrats' tradition holds that seniority trumps all when it comes to chairmanships, so for Waxman to launch a coup against Dingell was big gossip around Washington.

Turns out, Waxman won. 137-122.

So how did North Carolina’s Democrats cast their ballots? More to come…

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Blackwater interrogator wins D.C. battle