Top Dem's defeat portends intra-party fight on foreign affairs panel

By Julian Pecquet - 11/07/12 04:36 PM ET

Tuesday night's defeat of the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel portends a bitter intra-party fight to succeed him.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) lost decisively to fellow incumbent Brad Sherman in California's redrawn 30th district, despite having the tacit support of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the formal endorsement of the House's No. 2 Democrat, Steny Hoyer (Md.).

Democratic leaders must now decide whether to support Sherman or the expected rival bid from Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who is right behind Sherman in terms of seniority and is widely seen as the favorite to win the coveted ranking member spot.

Adding to the confusion, American Samoa Del. Eni Faleomavaega has also vowed to run. He says he's next in line for the top spot by seniority, even though he's considered a long shot because he can't vote in the full House.

“Regardless of my status as a Delegate, I am the only Asian-Pacific American to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and I am the first Asian-Pacific American in the history of the U.S. Congress to chair the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific,” Faleomavaega wrote in an op-ed for The Hill earlier this year. “So should the people of American Samoa vote me back in office and should I be the most senior Democrat in line, I will seek the top position on the Foreign Affairs Committee because, like Rosa Parks, I do not believe the disenfranchised should be asked to move to the back of the bus to make way for those who are more privileged or well-funded.”

Faleomavaega's bid is already gaining traction behind the scenes from members who have long clamored for more diversity in the Democratic leadership. He's also seen as potentially less hawkish on Iran than Sherman and Engel.

“It would be great to see some diversity in the Foreign Affairs Committee's Democratic leadership,” a Democratic House staffer told The Hill in an implicit endorsement of Faleomavaega. “Someone who can talk to Asia given our recent pivot, as well as someone who isn't inclined to wage new wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. Serving on leadership of the Foreign Affairs Committee requires that cooler heads prevail. On that front alone, the choice may be self-evident.”

Faleomavaega however has raised eyebrows for his support of Bahrain's anti-Iranian monarchy, which has been criticized for squashing political dissidents. Bahrain is being represented by a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm run by a longtime Faleomavaega friend and campaign contributor, ProPublica reported earlier this year.

The leadership race comes at a time of large turnover among Democrats on the committee. Out of 20 members at the beginning of the 112th Congress, only 13 will remain in the next Congress: the second-highest ranking member behind Berman, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), is retiring this year, and the next in line after Faleomavaega, Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), died unexpectedly this year.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) resigned in August, two members – Reps. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) and Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) -- lost reelection, and Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) won his bid for retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman's Senate seat.