Rep. Darrell Issa, the California congressman who has promised to closely scrutinize the Obama administration, will become chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the new GOP-controlled House of Representatives in January, it was announced on Wednesday.
The appointment had been expected. Issa (R-Vista) is the ranking minority member of the committee in the current Congress.
As chairman, Issa will be the leading voice in choosing what to investigate. A frequent Republican critic in the current Congress, Issa has said he wanted to seek new subpoena powers for dozens of federal agency watchdogs as part of a campaign to downsize government spending.
