Pete Stark: Charlie Rangel Successor As House Ways And Means Committee Chair

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) will temporarily take the House Ways and Means Committee chairmanship vacated Wednesday morning by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.)

Stark, who was next in the line of succession for the chair, said that he would only take the seat on an "interim basis" and would not be looking to hold it after November's midterm elections even if Rangel's ethics problems turn out to be incriminating, the Washington Post reports.

Stark, 78, has a history of verbally attacking his Republican colleagues, having on separate occasions called GOP representatives both "wimps" and "whores."

Firedoglake provides another anecdote about Stark's fiery personality:

"One day, a lobbyist from a large energy company entered the lobby of Representative Stark's office. When he heard who was in the lobby, Representative Stark yelled from another room "get the f*ck out of here!" When the lobbyist laughed a bit and didn't leave, Representative Stark came into the lobby and yelled again "no, get the f*ck out of here!" The lobbyist then left."

Stark has also had his own ethics problems to contend with. The House ethics committee recently exonerated him in a probe involving tax credits for a property he owns in Maryland. He was reportedly "extremely belligerent" in his ethics interview.