House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is challenging Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to become the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a panel that oversees major pieces of expected legislation on health care, CongressDaily reports (Friedman et al., CongressDaily, 11/5). Waxman has begun to call members of the committee to seek their support, according to a Democratic aide (Armstrong, CQ Today, 11/5). Waxman said the committee has a "narrow window" in which "to play the essential role of leadership on health and energy issues"(CongressDaily, 11/5).

The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee -- chaired by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) -- will select a nominee for the chairmanship and then the full Democratic Caucus will vote. If Dingell is not renominated, the steering panel will nominate a new candidate. If Waxman is selected as the new candidate, any committee member -- including Dingell -- could be nominated by the caucus to oppose the candidate. In that case, a head-to-head vote would be held to determine who would be chair (CQ Today, 11/5).

Waxman said, "I think I have a good chance of winning." However, an Energy and Commerce spokesperson said Waxman's bid does not benefit the Democratic Party. "Tearing the leadership apart is something the losing party normally does, not something the Democrats should be doing after a historic election" (CongressDaily, 11/5).

According to Bloomberg, the Energy and Commerce Committee is also "likely take the lead on climate change legislation in the next Congress" (Litvan/Woellert, Bloomberg, 11/6).