For all her talk about changing the tone in Washington, Rep. Pelosi evidently wants to inject more partisanship into the House Intelligence Committee. Today's New York Times reports that a Speaker Pelosi would not appoint Rep. Jane Harman to chair the committee. Why? It isn't because Harmon isn't qualified. She's one of the most articulate and thoughtful Democrats on national security. No, Pelosi won't appoint Harmon because she isn't partisan enough.
Representative Jane Harman has gained national prominence as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, but even her supporters now concede that she is unlikely to become chairman if her party wins control of the House. Standing in her way is another California lawmaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats' speaker-in-waiting, who would have the power to pick the leader of each committee. The relationship between the two has soured in recent years over political rivalries and policy disputes, and Congressional officials on both sides of the divide say Ms. Pelosi would most likely look elsewhere to fill the Intelligence Committee's top job…. "Ms. Harman, a moderate from Southern California, has been one of the party's most outspoken voices on national security matters since the Sept. 11 attacks. But she has also drawn sharp criticism from more liberal Democrats, including Ms. Pelosi, who have privately said that she has not sufficiently used her position to attack the Bush administration for its prewar intelligence failures on Iraq and for its use of secret programs like the domestic eavesdropping carried out without warrants by the National Security Agency….
The anti-Harman campaign has gotten so nasty that someone leaked to Time magazine that Harman was the focus of an F.B.I. "inquiry."
Ms. Pelosi's allies say that she is infuriated by the lobbying effort and that the outside pressure has made her even less likely to consider Ms. Harman. Ms. Harman's efforts to claim the post have even attracted the attention of investigators. Federal officials said Monday that she was the focus of a year-old F.B.I. inquiry related to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group. The officials, confirming a Time magazine report, said the bureau had been looking into whether she had made improper promises to the group in exchange for its efforts to lobby Ms. Pelosi on her behalf. But the officials also said that the accusations had not been proved and that although the inquiry remained open, it was no longer being actively pursued. "Congresswoman Harman does not know what this is all about," said her lawyer, Theodore B. Olson. "She has no information from the government that she is under an investigation of any sort, and the idea that she should be investigated for being a supporter of Aipac is frightening."
In a Pelosi-run House, the White House would be wise to cultivate closer relations with moderate Democrats like Harman. The combination of a unified GOP and a core group of Democrats uneasy with its leadership could score the administration some surprising legislative victories.