Rangel Keeps Committee Chairmanship (Again)

Representative Charles Rangel kept his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee after his fellow Democrats voted down a Republican-backed measure that would have removed him from his post. Rangel is the subject of a House ethics investigation, after reports of his four rent-stabilized apartments, use of House letterhead to solicit donations for a graduate center being named after him and various tax issues. The AP reports, "The House ethics committee voted to reauthorize a subcommittee of three Democrats and three Republicans to investigate Rangel, a New York Democrat who has served in Congress for nearly 40 years. The investigation began last year — at Rangel's request — but the subcommittee needed reauthorization because a new Congress was sworn in last month."