john dingell |
| John David Dingell, Jr. (born July 8, 1926) is a Democratic United States Representative from Michigan and is currently the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the second longest serving member all-time of the House of Representatives and the fourth longest serving member of Congress ever. Since 1955, he has represented a district that was first in western Detroit but has successively moved further into that city's western suburbs, currently Michigan's 15th congressional district.
With the Democrats' victory in the 2006 midterm elections, Dingell again became chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a panel he previously chaired from 1981 to 1995. According to the 2008 Congress.org Power Ranking, Dingell is the fourth most powerful congressman, preceded only by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, all fellow Democrats.[1] However, Dingell was replaced in November 2008 by a more pregressive representative, Henry Waxman[2]. On November 5, 2008, representative Henry Waxman of California challenged Dingell for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman defeated Dingell in vote by the full Democratic Caucus on November 20, 2008 by a margin of 137 to 122.[3] Waxman will take the chairmanship of the committee starting with the 111th Congress. blog comments powered by Disqus |