WASHINGTON — Defeating another political titan, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, the liberal Los Angeles power broker, captured a House post Thursday that will put him at the center of efforts to advance President-elect Barack Obama's proposals to curb global warming, develop alternative fuels and expand health insurance coverage.
Waxman's victory, in a secret ballot of his House Democratic colleagues, gives him the chairmanship of the influential energy and commerce committee, which will help shape some of Obama's most ambitious domestic plans.
The 137-122 vote stripped the chairmanship from Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), the longest-serving member in the House, and marked an unusual departure from the seniority system that usually dictates how the chamber operates.
The changing of the guard has significant implications for Obama's environmental agenda.
Dingell, an automobile-industry champion who represents greater Detroit, has been criticized for slowing or blocking action on stricter vehicle emissions standards, fuel-economy improvements and other regulatory efforts. Those stances have pitted him against Waxman, 69, for decades, and environmentalists feared that Dingell would be a drag on Obama's efforts to curb air pollution.
Dingell, 82, was elected to the House in 1955 -- six years before Obama was born. He now becomes part of the wave of congressional "Old Bulls" who have retired or been toppled by the tides of change that carried Obama and other Democrats to victory in this month's election.
In the Senate, Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican, lost his bid for reelection after being convicted of corruption charges. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving Democrat, was eased out of his post as chairman of the appropriations committee. Retirees include such veterans as Sens. John W. Warner (R-Va.) and Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.).
Dingell, who has been traveling the Capitol on crutches or in a wheelchair as he recovers from knee surgery, argued that he was an effective legislator and that the House would suffer from upsetting the seniority system. His defeat is a sign that, for the incoming generation of politicians, such arguments may no longer hold sway.
"Well, this was clearly a change year," Dingell said after his defeat.
Dingell's loss is a blow to the U.S. auto industry at a time when it says it needs additional federal help to avoid collapse. Some business interests worry that Waxman will steer the committee sharply to the left.
