Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) on Tuesday was selected to lead the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight subcommittee for the remainder of this Congress, succeeding the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in the position.
The Democratic members of the Ways and Means Committee chose Pascrell to be chair of the subcommittee, which is tasked with conducting oversight on tax, trade and health issues.
Pascrell said in a statement that it is “an enormous honor and responsibility” to follow Lewis in the position. He also said that as subcommittee chair he plans to focus on investigating the Trump administration.
“Exposing the public and private corruption left in the wake of the Trump government will take all the labor of cleaning up after the circus leaves town,” Pascrell said. “I’m eager to grab a shovel and get to work.”
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said that he has “full confidence that Rep. Pascrell will work tirelessly to ensure the Trump Administration is implementing the laws under Ways and Means’ jurisdiction efficiently and according to congressional intent.”
Pascrell was first elected to Congress in 1996 and is a longtime member of the Ways and Means Committee. He has been one of the leaders of Democrats’ efforts to obtain President Trump’s tax returns.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) will fill the opening on the full Ways and Means Committee that occurred following Lewis’s death in July.