Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, is an early favorite to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee, which will have a central role in the health care and climate change debates to come. However, his critics say that Upton is not fiscally conservative enough for the job and that a more principled candidate should be chosen instead.

"[T]his would be a tone-deaf disaster if the Republican leadership lets Fred Upton ascend to the chairmanship of the House energy committee," said conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh on his radio show. "No Republican complicit in nannyism, statism, can be rewarded this way."

Among the bills Rep. Upton has supported is a controversial 2007 measure that led to a phase-out of the incandescent light bulb. It was co-sponsored with liberal Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.