By Zachary Gorchow
Executive Editor and Publisher
Posted: January 15, 2013 12:09 PM

As I perused the official statement Friday from House Democrats reacting to the day’s Revenue Estimating Conference, I noticed a phrasing in the portion attributed to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), whom House Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) wants to serve as his caucus’s minority vice chair on the all-important Appropriations Committee.

The statement referred to Ms. Tlaib as “the House Democrats’ nominee for minority vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee.”

That took me back to an incident in late 2002.

In the House, the speaker controls virtually all aspects of operations – the budget, hiring and firing of staff and committee assignments, even the assignments for members of the minority party. The minority leader will present recommendations, and usually the speaker agrees to them, but that’s all they are, recommendations.

In 2002, the House Minority Leader-elect, Dianne Byrum, announced that then-Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, now the Senate minority leader, would serve as the House Democrats’ minority vice chair on Appropriations.

A day later, the spokesperson for the then-speaker, Rick Johnson, contacted reporters to spread the word that he as speaker makes committee assignments, thought the minority leader’s announcement was presumptuous and was considering not naming Ms. Whitmer to the post. Ms. Byrum and Mr. Johnson worked it out and in January, Mr. Johnson did name Ms. Whitmer to the post.

But the point was made.