House Democrats Pick Leadership Team

Susan Davis reports on Congress. House Democrats lined up their leadership team today for the 111th U.S. Congress, with California Rep. Xavier Becerra winning the only contested leadership race to be vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus. With a 175-67 vote of his fellow Democratic House members, Becerra easily dispatched rival Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio for the job. Connecticut Rep. John Larson , who previously held the post, was elevated to the Caucus chairmanship by acclamation today. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the previous Caucus chairman, is leaving the House to become President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Emanuel presided over the meeting today in one of his last acts as a member of Congress. A choked up Emanuel told his colleagues that it was “not an easy decision for me” to leave the House. He recalled that he often tells high school students that at some point in their lives, they need to do something bigger than themselves. “I decided it’s about time to ... (link)