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Mica, Boehner to talk Transportation Committee chairmanship next week
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) will discuss the possibility of remaining chairman of the House Transportation Committee with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) next week, according to a House GOP aide.
Mica, who has been chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since 2010, won an 11th term in Congress this week. However, he is facing term limits for committee chairmen set by House Republicans when they took control of the lower chamber.
The rules call for lawmakers to step down after six years as ranking member or chairman of a particular committee, unless they are given a waiver by leadership.
When asked about the possibility of Mica seeking such a waiver, a committee aide told The Hill Friday the long-time Florida lawmaker and the speaker would talk when the House returns to session next week.
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has been widely presumed to be next in line atop the Transportation Committee, and the longtime Pennsylvania Republican has said he is moving forward with his bid for the panel's gavel.
“I’ve spoken to him,” Shuster said of Mica on a conference call with reporters this week. “He said he may go for a waiver. That’s a question for him if he’s going to pursue a waiver. I’m going to pursue this.”
The possibility of Mica seeking a waiver notwithstanding, Shuster used his conference call to lay out a robust agenda for the Transportation Committee under his leadership in the 113th Congress next year.
“The next Congress is going to have to consider a highway bill ... [the Passenger Rail Investment Act] will have to be reauthorized and we’ll have to do a water bill, which hasn’t been authorized,” Shuster said. “It’s good to be a very, very busy committee.”
Mica has not commented publicly on his future on the Transportation Committee since Tuesday's election.
