Free Republic

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 03/03/2010 Pelosi Statement on Chairman Charles Rangel Washington, D.C - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this morning on Chairman Charles B. Rangel: "Chairman Charlie Rangel has informed me of his request for a leave of absence from his duties and responsibilities as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. I will honor his request. "I commend Chairman Rangel for his decades of leadership on jobs, health care, and the most significant economic issues of the day."

Labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday, capturing 53 percent of the primary vote against two opponents. She now faces incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the fall in a race that will be an uphill battle for the Democrat. Chavez-Thompson used her support from labor and Hispanic groups to establish a strong position in the race and also outspent her opponents - including former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle - by a substantial margin. Chavez-Thompson, 65, of San Antonio, is a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO and a vice...