Oregon Congressman Greg Walden is taking over a powerful committee chairmanship that could give him a big role in the nation’s health care debate.
The Hood River Republican beat out two rivals seeking the helm of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Walden was selected in a closed-door meeting held by House GOP leaders Thursday.
The energy and commerce committee is expected to play a key role in Republican efforts to repeal President Obama’s health care law and replace it with something else.
Walden said in a statement that he would work with the incoming Trump administration and others on what he called “patient-centered health care.”
Several Capitol Hill publications reported that Walden won the position because of his success as chairman of the House Republican campaign committee.
Under Walden’s leadership, Republicans won the largest majority they’ve had since the 1920s. And they lost only a handful of those seats this year.
