Rep. Levin takes helm at Ways and Means Committee

WASHINGTON — House Democrats elevated Sander Levin, D-Mich., a pro-union, anti-free-trade liberal who is a close ally of the auto industry, to chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

Levin, 78, succeeds Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who stepped down from the post amid ethics questions.

Levin's ascension settled an internal party squabble and served as a rebuke to the seniority system, as Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., was in line to chair the powerful panel with authority over tax and trade issues. Rank-and-file Democrats on the committee rebelled because Stark, also 78, has a history of intemperate remarks and has an undisclosed illness that has made it difficult for him to be on hand in recent weeks.

Levin's younger brother, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairs the Armed Services Committee, creating a familial powerhouse. Congressional historians could not recall another instance of brothers chairing congressional committees at the same time.

Sander Levin, first elected in 1982, is in his 14th term. He will serve as acting chairman until Rangel's ethics case is resolved or a new Congress convenes next year.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.