AP News does a rundown of the 2019/2020 early US House Democrats that will become committee chairpersons after the internal Nov. 28 election….
On top of the list should lbe….
Speaker of House….Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.)
House Majority leader..Rep. .Steny Hoyer… (D-Md.
House Whip….James Clyburn (D-S.C.)
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee….Cheri Bustos (D-Ill)
Now that Democrats have captured control of the House for the next two years, the party’s most senior members are poised to regain the wide-ranging power of committee chairmanships.
While some of the Democrats have gained fame in feuds with President Donald Trump, others are relatively little-known outside of Capitol Hill.
A look at the Democratic lawmakers expected to wield the gavels and shape the party’s top priorities:
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NITA LOWEY
Appropriations Committee
Lowey, 81, would be the first woman to oversee the committee that determines where the federal government spends its money. The New York Democrat, who represents the lower Hudson Valley, said the committee will seek to increase funding for infrastructure and for safety-net programs such as Head Start and Pell grants. The committee will also work to increase budget caps so lawmakers can avoid steep cuts to defense and nondefense programs.
The committee can also conduct oversight of any Trump administration action that involves government funding, such as how much Cabinet members are spending on travel or how much it is costing the Pentagon to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
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ADAM SCHIFF
Intelligence Committee
Schiff, 58, represents parts of Los Angeles, including Hollywood and Burbank. As the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, he has been one of Trump’s favorite foils in Congress. Schiff has repeatedly criticized the House’s Russia investigation, which his GOP colleagues conducted, saying it was inadequate.
Now Schiff will get his chance to conduct his own targeted investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia. He has said that he wants to look at whether Russians used laundered money for transactions with the Trump Organization. He also wants more information about communications the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., had with his father and others about a June 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.
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ELIJAH CUMMINGS
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Cummings, 67, will likely head the committee that could make life the toughest for the Trump White House because of its broad investigative powers.
Cummings would likely seek Trump’s business tax returns and other company-related financial records. He said he will work to make the president accountable, but will also challenge Republicans to uphold their oversight responsibilities, saying, “I think we as a body can do better.”
The Maryland Democrat, who represents parts of Baltimore city and most of Howard County, has said he would also like the committee to examine prescription drug prices and whether some states have engaged in voter suppression.
“We cannot have a country where it becomes normal to do everything in Trump’s power to stop people from voting,” Cummings said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
He would also seek to bring Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross before the committee to testify about the decision to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census.
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JERROLD NADLER
Judiciary Committee
Nadler, 71, has been in Congress since 1992 and has served on the Judiciary Committee for much of that time. He represents a large swath of Trump’s hometown of New York.
He is expected to make one of his first priorities as chairman protecting special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and requesting that Mueller’s materials are preserved in case he is fired. Nadler said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Matthew Whitaker, whom Trump named acting attorney general last week, “should recuse himself” from Mueller probe because he “expressed total hostilities to the investigation” and “if necessary” the Judiciary Committee will “subpoena” him to appear before the committee
The Judiciary panel would also oversee impeachment proceedings, if Democrats decided to move in that direction. But Nadler has expressed caution about the idea, saying there would have to be “overwhelming evidence” from Mueller and some bipartisan support.
The panel is also expected to look into family separation at the border and the Trump administration’s management of the Affordable Care Act….
2010 image of Hoyer, Pelosi and Clyburn…pbs.org
Note….
The Speaker of the US House is the second person in line to succeed the President….
Pelosi will as of Jan.3rd get an upgraded security detail again like she had in 2010 from the US Capitol Police….
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) has dropped her challenge against Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) to become the third-ranking House Democrat in the next Congress, citing the “internal pressure” facing her supporters to keep the current leadership team intact…..
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The move leaves all three Democratic leaders — Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Clyburn — running unopposed, at least for now, as they seek to remain atop leadership heading into next year, when Democrats will control the lower chamber….
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