Towns Tapped to Head Government Reform Panel

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y) will replace Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) atop the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday. The veteran Towns — just reelected to his 14th term — will fill the void left after Waxman’s successful win over Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Towns had angered Pelosi a few years back for voting with Republicans on a controversial trade bill (it passed by two votes) and disappearing during an important vote on the GOP budget (it also passed by two votes). As retaliation, she’d threatened to remove Towns from his post on the energy and commerce panel. With yesterday’s appointment, it looks like the Speaker has tempered that grudge.