WASHINGTON — The Republican takeover of the House has Rep. Charlie Rangel playing beat the clock to finish his ethics trial while his “friends” are still in charge.
The embattled Harlem Democrat will have to hurry to wrap up the congressional trial on 13 ethics violations during a short lame-duck session this month.
Otherwise, he could face a much tougher ethics panel put together by the new Republican majority when the next session of Congress convenes in January.
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The trial is set to begin Nov. 15, although there was talk Rangel would seek a postponement after he lost his legal team last month. He’ll have to think twice about it now.
Rangel, who is accused of a “pattern” of misconduct, maintains he is innocent of charges ranging from using House stationery to solicit funds for the Charles B. Rangel Center at City College to failing to pay taxes on rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic.
For others in the state’s House delegation, the power shift will bring a reversal of fortunes.
Rep. Pete King (R-LI) is set to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, giving him added clout to secure anti-terrorism funding.
But Rep. Ed Townes (D-Brooklyn) is out as head of the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, so President Obama will have to face tough-minded Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) as the new chairman with investigative and subpoena power.
King has vowed not only to make sure New York gets the money it needs to stay “safe,” but also to keep Washington focused on the terror fight.
“The further we get from 9/11, the more and more people forget about the horror of that day, especially people in Washington. It’s my job to make sure they don’t forget,” he said yesterday on WCBS radio.
On the other side of the Capitol, New York’s senators remained well positioned as Democrats held on to the majority.
Sen. Chuck Schumer won’t be making a play for the job of top Democrat now that Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has triumphed over a tough Republican challenger.
But Schumer is still the No. 3 Democrat in the chamber and continues to wield mighty influence.
The state’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, improved her standing in the chamber by handily winning a special election Tuesday to finish Hillary Rodham Clinton’s term.
Gillibrand’s victory with 61 percent of the vote goes a long way to silence critics who called her a “lightweight” after Gov. Paterson appointed her last year to take Clinton’s place.