Rep. Waxman from California defeated Rep. Dingell from Michigan to take the the House Energy and Commerce Committee lead in January.
This is good news because being from Michigan (home of the US auto industry), Dingell has been rather soft on climate change legislation. Waxman is stronger on environmental issues, and won the position by a vote of 137-122, in a secret ballot vote of the entire House Democratic Caucus.
Having Waxman in the lead of this committee should also help Obama fulfill his energy and climate plan.
