Politics | Henry Waxman For Dems, Dingell Showdown Is Agony Representatives dread choice between veteran lawmakers to chair key committee By Gabriel Winant Posted Nov 20, 2008 8:09 AM CST Copied Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., speak after being re-elected to lead the party in the 111th Congress on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) House Democrats have been dreading this day: the unavoidable vote between Henry Waxman and John Dingell to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee. Though Waxman is a savvy lawmaker and closer to much of the caucus on the key issue of climate change, the 82-year-old Dingell, Detroit's staunchest congressional booster, is the longest-serving member of the House. "I wish we did not have to make the choice between two extraordinary legislators,” one representative puts it politely. Waxman won a preliminary Steering Committee vote yesterday 25-22. Dingell supporters say that the caucus as a whole, which is set to vote today, is more supportive of Dingell than the committee. “We’re in a much stronger position with the rank and file,” says a Pennsylvania congressman backing Dingell. Waxman supporters have kept mum. Read These Next Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. Sienna proves herself to be a very, very good dog. One way to make a statement? With 15 tons of trash. Report an error