Barton Will Fight for Energy Chair
Politico reports:
Republicans don’t even have the House majority yet, but Rep. Joe Barton is already making a play for a chairmanship his leadership is highly unlikely to give him.
In his quest to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Texas Republican is petitioning the Steering Committee that awards chairmanships to “clarify” whether the party’s six-year term limits for the position apply to time served in the minority. He’s already talking about investigations he’d like to launch and asserts that he’s got a “very good” shot at the chairmanship.
But Energy and Commerce may not be one the Lone Star State wins. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton is talked about by Hill insiders and K Street sources as having the upper hand in the chairmanship battle. Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns and Illinois Rep. John Shimkus are also in the mix. Why so much maneuvering for a chairmanship before the election?
The energy panel, under a Republican majority, could become the launching pad for ideological battles that would define a GOP House digging in on global warming, cap and trade, energy bills, health care repeals and a wide range of business regulations.
Barton pegs his chances for retaking the gavel at “very, very good,” adding that being a chairman is “not an entitlement program. ... It is discretionary.” He said he may ask for a special waiver for term limits.
But top House Republican aides indicated that the Steering Committee will reaffirm that the rule does include time in the minority and majority — and that the panel is unlikely to extend Barton a waiver. Barton already has a tense relationship with Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, which won’t help him in lobbying for the chairmanship. Barton and Boehner’s icy relationship goes back to when the Texan challenged Boehner for minority leader in 2006.
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