House Democrats could be facing another problematic leadership fight atop the chamber's Veterans' Affairs committee in coming months.
Last week, the committee's interim ranking member, California Rep. Mark Takano, sent a letter to colleagues announcing his bid to take over the role of top Democrat next year. Takano has served in the post for the last few weeks, since Florida Rep. Corrine Brown was indicted on fraud charges.
Takano is the most senior Democratic member of committee, and also serves as whip of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus. He said his appointment to the post will "continue the Democratic Caucus' commitment to diversity."
"Since filling the position of acting ranking member in July, I have taken a proactive approach to guarantee my colleagues have the best resources and information to fight for our nation's veterans," he said in the letter.
"I have organized briefings to ensure Democrats are prepared to debate the future of the VA health care system, and I soon will be releasing a Democratic omnibus that highlights Democratic priorities that keep our promise to veterans."
But Takano's bid comes weeks after fellow committee member Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., circulated his own "dear colleague" letter urging Democrats to support him for the leadership role.
Walz, a retired command sergeant major in the Army National Guard, made a bid to take over as the committee's ranking member at the beginning of this congressional session, but lost out on the chance in part due to caucus seniority tradition.
Walz has been on the committee since joining Congress in 2007, six years longer than Takano. But he ranks lower on the seniority list because of a waiver he received years ago to sit on three congressional committees instead of the standard two. If he had dropped off one of those other committees, he would be in line for the leadership post already.
Democratic leadership’s decision at that time to pass over Walz, a veteran, for Brown, whose relationship with Republican colleagues and veterans organizations was frequently strained, upset many in the community, and left party officials scrambling to assure all sides that Walz would play a prominent role on the panel.
So, for the second session in a row, Democrats could be faced with a choice between passing over a highly respected veteran for the top Veterans' Affairs Committee post or breaking seniority tradition to pass over a minority candidate.
Walz has made it clear that taking over the ranking member chair — and possibly the chairmanship, if Democrats can win back the House this fall — is a top priority for him.
In his letter to colleagues, Walz said that "our VA system is in crisis" and "now, more than ever, Democrats need a strong, respected voice to address these problems head on and build the coalition required to get veterans and their families the care they deserve."
Takano has been active in the interim role over the last few weeks, even as Congress was on legislative recess. He was a speaker at the Democratic convention in July and has been a vocal critic of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, particularly with respect to his plans to shift more resources to private care options outside the Veterans Affairs system.
Leadership elections for both parties will take place after the fall elections.
Republicans on the committee will also have to select a new leader for their party on the panel, after Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., announced his retirement from Congress earlier this year.
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
