Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) will lead the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year. He’ll take over for the panel’s current top Republican, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who will become

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee will chair the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year. Driving the news: Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) handed the gavel to Lee during an impromptu ceremony Tuesday. Lee has long been seen as the GOP's next-in-line,

Mike Lee is among the list of lawmakers poised to take over the chairmanship of various committees after Republicans took back control of the U.S. Senate in the election earlier this month. Lee, in a post on Tuesday,