Who will win the gavel?

The Republican Steering Committee will make its recommendations later today on who should lead the Appropriations, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services committees. In all three races, the candidates are running to the right of their competition, sometimes in the face of long records that suggest otherwise.

Keep an eye on approps:

All the candidates for chairman have more than 15 years on the committee and all have hungrily sought earmarks. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, in the last fiscal year, [Rep. Jerry] Lewis won 62 earmarks worth $97.6 million, followed by [Rep. Harold] Rogers with 59 costing $93.4 million, and [Rep. Jack] Kingston 40 worth $66.8 million.
Mr. Lewis was chairman of the committee before Democrats took control of the House in 2006 and would need a special exemption to be chairman again because of party-imposed term limits. In campaigning for the job, he has emphasized his past efforts to push spending cuts. Mr. Rogers has promoted his party fund-raising and his willingness to confront the executive branch on spending. Mr. Kingston has the backing of some outside fiscal watchdogs and promises a new openness on the panel.