Who's in and who's out of House committee leadership positions
- Democratic control of the US House of Representatives means every House committee will have a new chair.
- The new crop of committee chairs will include more women and people of color.
- The new House leadership also includes several prominent foes of President Donald Trump, who will soon have the power to investigate the president and his administration.
With Democrats sweeping to power in the House, control of the chamber's 22 committees will move from Republican to Democratic hands.
While it's unclear whether House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will secure the 218 votes she needs to become the next House Speaker in December, 22 other leadership positions are essentially secured. And the new crop of House leaders will include several of President Donald Trump's prominent foes, who will soon have the power to investigate and subpoena him and his administration.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, the likely next chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has long sparred with Trump and has already said he'll initiate probes into sexual assault and perjury allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Trump's ousting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Rep. Maxine Waters, who will chair the House financial services committee, has also traded barbs with Trump, who has called her a "seriously low I.Q. person." She will likely work to reinstate consumer protection regulations eroded by the Trump administration.
And Rep. Adam Schiff, the incoming chair of the intelligence committee, has promised to open new investigations into alleged ties between the president and the Russian government.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, the new chair of the oversight committee, has said he'll launch inquiries into voter suppression and alleged fraud in the Trump administration.
The new crop of committee chairs will be significantly more diverse - in gender and race - than their GOP predecessors. While Republicans boasted just two women and no people of color, among their 22 House committee chairs Democrats will have five women committee chairs, three of whom are women of color, and four men of color.
