Mica portrait to be unveiled Wednesday

A portrait of outgoing House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) will be unveiled at the Capitol Wednesday.

Mica won reelection to an 11th term in last month's election, but he is facing term limits implemented by the GOP when they took control of the House in 2010. 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. 

Mica had briefly sought a waiver after one was given to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) after his unsuccessful vice presidential bid, but House leaders instead tapped Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) to take over the Transportation Committee next year. 

Committee officials said Tuesday that Mica's portrait would be the 16th portrait of a Transportation Committee chairman since 1947, when the panel was created and known as the Public Works Committee.

The portrait of Mica was painted by artist Ned Bittinger, and it will be added to the collection of the Curator of the House, the committee said.

The committee added that Mica will be the sixth committee chairman from Florida to have a portrait, joining former Reps. Claude Pepper (D; Rules Committee); James Andrew Haley (D; Interior and Insular Affairs); Dante Fascell (D; Foreign Affairs); Don Fuqua (D; Science and Technology) and Bill Young (R; Appropriations).

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