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Nov. 9, 2006 - The Democrats’ decisive victory in the House of Representatives ended 12 years of Republican dominance and set the stage for a new crop of House committee leaders. The presumptive House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has soaked up much of the media's attention as Republican strategists brand her as too liberal to represent mainstream America. But the members Pelosi appoints to lead critical committees could be nearly as significant as the new speaker herself. Traditionally, committee chairs are doled out to ranking committee members (i.e. based on seniority), although Pelosi could always shake things up and award leadership roles based on ideological criteria. If she takes the former route and honors seniority, the following Democrats could take key committee chairs:

Ways and Means: Charles Rangel, of New York, could replace California Republican Bill Thomas. Rangel is expected to wield his authority most forcefully in the arenas of taxation and foreign trade. He has opposed President George Bush's tax cuts, and seems unlikely to endorse a continuation of President Bush's fast-track authority—the president's power to negotiate trade deals without congressional oversight, which comes up for review in 2007.

International Relations: California’s Tom Lantos could replace Illinois Republican Henry Hyde. Lantos is the only Holocaust survivor to have served in the United States Congress. He has a history of advocacy on human-rights issues, and though he has strongly criticized Bush's Iraq War policy, his voting record overlaps significantly with Hyde's, including on issues of United Nations reform and U.S. policy toward Israel.

Financial Services: Barney Frank of Massachusetts could replace Ohio Republican Michael Oxley. Republicans have raised concerns about Frank as a committee chair, with Vice President Dick Cheney among others saying he is too liberal: "I don't need to tell you what kind of legislation would come," Cheney said of Frank and other Democrats poised to take over committees. But historically, Financial Services has been among the more bipartisan of house committees, and some analysts say radical change is unlikely. Among Frank's stated priorities is increasing oversight of hedge funds.

Armed Services: Missouri’s Ike Skelton could replace California Republican Duncan Hunter. Skelton comes from a military family—his father served in World War II, and he has sons in the Army and Navy (though he himself was ineligible for service because he once had polio). As the ranking Democrat, he has generally been cooperative with Hunter, but in 2002 Skelton personally wrote President Bush to warn of the possibility of "civil unrest and even anarchy" following an attack on Iraq. Skelton has said that as committee chair he would consider investigating wasteful spending on U.S. military operations in Iraq.

Energy and Commerce: Michigan’s John Dingell could replace Texas Republican Joe Barton. Dingell chaired the committee before Republicans took control of the House in 1994 and he is considered a labor Democrat. He also has strong personal connections to auto industry higher-ups, not surprising given his long career representing Michigan.

Appropriations: Wisconsin’s David Obey could replace California Republican Jerry Lewis. Obey was Appropriations chairman for less than a year, in 1994, before Republicans won control of the House. His legislative emphasis is on labor and education issues. Experts expect that Obey will ramp up oversight of appropriations directed to the executive branch.

Government Reform: California’s Henry Waxman could replace Tom Davis of Virginia. Waxman has been a consistent and vocal opponent of President Bush's agenda. Many Republicans have raised concerns about him as chairman of the committee in charge of launching investigations—in particular, about whether he would target the president. One of Waxman's chief legislative interests has been regulation of the pharmaceutical industry and prescription drug prices.

Intelligence: California’s Jane Harman is the ranking Democrat in line to replace Republican Peter Hoekstra, though insider reports suggest Pelosi could pass over Harman, instead assigning the post to one of the next-highest ranking Democrats on the committee, possibly Alcee Hastings of Florida. Harman was one of a small number of Democrats who attended secret house briefings on domestic surveillance policies, and some Democrats have criticized her for being too moderate and too willing to cooperate with Republicans.

Judiciary: Michigan’s John Conyers could replace Republican chairman James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin. Conyers is expected to take an active role in pushing for broad immigration reforms. He has also said he is eager to reexamine the Patriot Act to address Democratic concerns over the act's alleged civil liberties violations.

Homeland Security: Mississippi’s Bennie Thompson  could replace Republican chairman Peter King of New York. Thompson has urged congress to more thoroughly follow through on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations for homeland-security reform. Democrats have also said they may also revisit concerns raised during the Dubai Ports World controversy over foreign ownership of U.S. infrastructure.