Congressional aides say House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has chosen Rep. Silvestre Reyes [above] of Texas to take over as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, The Associated Press reports.
This was her only option. Thank God she chose wisely.
Now she needs to implement ALL of the 9/11 Commission reforms and keep her campaign promises on lobbying reform and accountability.
Here is the full story:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has chosen a Border-Patrol-agent-turned-congressman to lead the House Intelligence Committee, according to congressional aides.
Democratic leaders are contacting congressional and other political officials to tell them Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, will be the new chairman of the committee when Democrats take over in January, said the two aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they considered it an internal party issue.
The selection of Reyes marks one of the few committee assignments that was still a question after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives last month. It set up an early challenge for Pelosi, who had sole discretion on the selection.
The California Democrat had to navigate a series of candidates -- and their supporters -- who were vying for the post. In the end, Pelosi bypassed two more senior intelligence committee members -- Reps. Jane Harman, D-California, and Alcee Hastings, D-Florida -- to select Reyes.
Harman is currently the committee's top Democrat, and her leadership term expires this year. She could have been reappointed by Pelosi, but the two are said to have political differences.
Some critics and ethics watchdogs questioned whether Hastings was the right person for the post, which has access to some of the nation's top secrets. He is Congress' only impeached federal judge.
...
Known as "Silver" to friends, Reyes is a Purple Heart winner who was drafted into the Army and served during 1966-68 as a helicopter crew chief and gunner. His service included 13 months in Vietnam.
Under Democratic control, his committee is expected to conduct more public oversight of some of the most difficult issues facing the United States, including terrorism, Iraq and government surveillance. Given the committee's inherently secret nature, much of the work will have to be done behind closed doors.
In an interview this month, Reyes said he will insist on more information about the Bush administration's most classified programs and how they are working. The Republicans, he said, have made a habit of rubber-stamping those programs.
He also wants to look at the role of intelligence three years after the war in Iraq and the state of traditional spycraft, known in spook lingo as "human intelligence."
As a final aside, come with me on a journey to Cognitive Dissonance Land.
In the politics section of CNN's website, they have two headlines right next to each other:
- GOP leaders say party strayed, must find its way
- GOP wants law to define when fetuses feel pain
Keep it up GOP. The GOP elders believe the way is fiscal conservatism, tax cuts and smaller government. The Radical Right believes the way is social conservatism with a dash of fascism.