Politics

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Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. appears before the House Ethics Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. speaks before the House Ethics Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. appears before the House Ethics Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

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Rep. Charles Rangel, New York Democrat, right, reaches out to shake hands with Blake Chisam, chief counsel for the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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President Obama speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, where he dropped by a meeting on the the New START pact (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). From left are, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Mr. Obama. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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In this Dec. 7, 2009, file photo, former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush arrive for a ceremony to dedicate an expanded gallery that carries his name at the National Museum of the Pacific War, in Fredericksburg, Texas. On Wednesday, President Obama named the former president a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens during a press conference in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

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U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) Alaska, center, is greeted by her sister Carol Sturgelewski, left, upon her arrival at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Murkowski became the first Senate candidate in more than 50 years to win a write-in campaign. The victory is a remarkable comeback for Murkowski, who lost to political newcomer Joe Miller in the GOP primary, and a humbling moment for Sara Palin, the former Alaska governor, 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate and Murkowski nemesis whose support was not enough to get Miller through an election in her own backyard. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen)

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U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) Alaska, smiles at supporters upon her arrival at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Murkowski became the first Senate candidate in more than 50 years to win a write-in campaign. The victory is a remarkable comeback for Murkowski, who lost to political newcomer Joe Miller in the GOP primary, and a humbling moment for Sara Palin, the former Alaska governor, 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate and Murkowski nemesis whose support was not enough to get Miller through an election in her own backyard. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen)

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United States Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), center, addresses a joyous crowd as her victorious write-in campaign is announced in Anchorage, Alaska Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Murkowski is the first Senate candidate in more than 50 years to win a write-in campaign. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen)

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U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski declares victory in the Alaska Senate race, exactly two months after announcing her long-shot write-in campaign, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen)

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Associated Press photographs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, walk to a news conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, after being re-elected as the leaders of the House Democrats, although they will be in the minority in the 112th Congress next year.