On December 8, 2010, the House Republican Conference ratified Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) as chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The GOP Steering Committee nominated him just one day earlier, beating out Joe Barton (TX), John Shimkus (IL), and Cliff Stearns (FL).The ratification process did not meet opposition since none of the other candidates challenged the nomination and congratulated Upton on his new position.
Upton won critical support from John Boehner (OH) and other senior party members. Upton has already named Joe Pitts (R-PA) as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, but Upton has said no further selections will be made until the entire Committee meets next week.
The press release from Upton’s website is available here.