Raúl Grijalva’s decision to step aside as the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee without a fight was stunning, ending a decadelong run for the Arizona Democrat. His likely successor is already plotting how he’ll battle Republican-controlled Washington.
California Rep. Jared Huffman vowed Monday that as ranking member on the committee, he’d fight back against Republican plans to roll back climate legislation, among other priorities. “There’s a storm coming,” he said in an interview.
“I have seen enough of this over the last 12 years to know what to expect from unified Republican government during normal times, but these are not even close to normal times,” Huffman, 60, said. “We’ve gotta hit the ground running with excellent committee work.”
Huffman’s rise to the top slot on the committee — still not official, though there is no other challenger — has been months in the making. He laid the groundwork after Grijalva, 76, left Washington in April following a cancer diagnosis.
