Ranker will not be chair of the Environment and Marine Waters Committee, or co-chair of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee, because he says the positions are set up for failure.
The democrat from the 40th district says the other co-chairs of the Energy and Eelecommunications Committee are republicans with a track record of voting against renewable energy projects.
But Ranker says he will still be a member of the committee and work to advance renewable energy in Washington.
He says he turned down the chair of the Environment and Marine Waters Committee because he feels the republican majority would block any bills that the committee works on before they make it to the senate floor.
Ranker says he was elected to be an advocate for women's rights, education, jobs and the environment, and he doesn't believe the republican proposal for the senate will support those values.
