Keeping up with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's power plays during her wrestling matches with President Barack Obama may require a referee. Considered the second most powerful person in Washington after Obama, her muscle flexing goes on almost daily. She has been letting him know that it is in her power to shape the legislative agenda.
The recent appointment to the House Ethics Committee of San Jose Democrat Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a San Franciso Bay Area member, puts another player in Pelosi's court. This will give California five committee chairs, more than any other state. The committee is comprised of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Lofgren will also be representing Pelosi's views at weekly meeting of all House committee chairs, where key decisions are often made. On the Ethics Committee's agenda is the investigation of alleged financial improprieties of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). Rangel heads the House and Means Committee, another powerful position. Meanwhile Republicans are nipping at Pelosi's heels to get the hearings underway, hoping to provide damage to the Democrats.
Apparently Lofgren's appointment sends a message to Obama because while Pelosi praises the new president, she has let him know through her use of the media that she is not always going to defer to him on key policies. The timetable of legislation will be determined by her and may provide the most interesting tug of war between the White House and House Democrats during Obama's first term.
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