Mica Supports Shuster to Be Next Chairman of House Transportation Committee
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he has abandoned his quest to remain chairman and is throwing his support to Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
In a letter sent Monday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Mica said he accepted the Republican congressional caucus rule that chairmen are term-limited.
Mica’s letter urged Boehner to make Shuster the committee’s new chairman when the new congressional session begins in January. Shuster announced after the election earlier this month that he would seek the committee’s chairmanship.
Shuster, who currently chairs the panel’s subcommittee on railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials, “has served in two subcommittee leadership positions and has both the experience and ability to assume this important position for our conference,” Mica’s letter said.
As for his own tenure the past two years as chairman, Mica said: “I appreciate the confidence and trust placed in me and look forward to supporting the Republican leadership team that will soon be assembled.”
