Manchin to succeed Cantwell as Senate Energy panel’s top Democrat

Oil & Gas Journal: US Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will become the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s ranking minority member when Congress reconvenes in January, it was announced on Dec. 12. He will succeed Maria E. Cantwell (D-Wash.), who has been the committee’s top Democrat since January 2015.

“This committee has a long history of bipartisanship that has helped propel our nation’s energy technology forward,” said Manchin, who has been a member since he was sworn to succeed the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd in November 2010 after 6 years as West Virginia’s governor.

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