Washington Watches Pelosi's First Steps

Dec. 2, 2006 — -- Nancy Pelosi hasn't officially assumed her duties as speaker of the House of Representatives -- but that hasn't stopped Washington from taking a very close look at her performance so far.

Pelosi's latest move is her selection of Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes to head the Intelligence Committee.

Pelosi was under pressure to choose one of two other Democrats -- California Rep. Jane Harmon and Alcee Hastings of Florida. Both have more seniority on the committee than Reyes.

Harmon especially has had a high profile on television, and she lobbied hard for the chairmanship. She persuaded big Democratic financial donors to urge Pelosi to choose her. She also had the backing of moderate Democratic members known as "blue dogs."

But Harmon and Pelosi have a rocky history, and no love is lost there. Harmon had also, in Pelosi's view, blotted her copy book by not being a severe enough critic of the Bush administration's Iraq and security policies. In the end, all Harmon got was Pelosi's promise that she will have some seniority and influence on the Energy Committee -- a small consolation.

The incoming speaker also had to deal with another kind of pressure -- from the NACCP and the Congressional Black Caucus, which wanted Alcee Hastings to get the job.

But Hastings would have come to the job with ethical baggage Pelosi did not want. As a federal judge, he was impeached in 1988 for bribery and perjury by the Democratic-controlled House on a 413-3 vote. One of the Democrats voting to impeach was Jane Harmon.

In this year's November elections, many Democrats promised that, if elected, they would change what they called the "culture of corruption" in Washington. Many Democrats warned that if Pelosi chose Hastings for the chairmanship, she and the party would be open to charges of hypocrisy. She decided not to take the chance.

Instead, Pelosi chose Reyes, an Hispanic with experience both in combat and as a border patrol agent. He opposed the Iraq war, and said that as the U.S. moves toward "getting out of Iraq," his committee will "do the oversight with the administration about how do we proceed and what are the options."

Although Pelosi has not won unanimous praise for choosing Reyes, she has avoided the torrent of criticism that followed her decision to back a losing candidate for majority leader. That is a post all House Democrats vote on, and she decided to enter the fray rather than remaining neutral.