Breaking from CQ: Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida has dropped his bid to replace Jane Harman as chair of the House Intelligence Commitee. Soon-to-be-Speaker Pelosi is meeting with him later today and will soon decide the chairmanship.
Since Pelosi is unlikely to reverse her decision to not renew Harman's term, Hastings' departure still means there will be a different chair of this highly sensitive committee. I was pitching for Silvestre Reyes of Texas, but there are other possibilities as well. What are your thoughts?
UPDATE: I figured I'd flesh this "breaking" news out a little more. You all know about Hastings' tenure from 1979 to 1989 as a federal judge; in 1989 he was impeached by the House, though he was not convicted. The appearance of corruption was my argument for not picking him, and apparently Pelosi saw this as a red flag.
But Harman will likely lose not only her presumed chairmanship, but her seat on this committee. So who will lead this top-secret panel?