House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is reinstalling fellow California Democrat George Miller as co-chairman of the Steering and Policy Committee, a Democratic leadership aide confirmed to CQ Roll Call on Monday evening.  

Miller, now the ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, is retiring at the end of this year after four decades in Congress. He replaces Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J., who resigned last month to take a job at a Philadelphia law firm amid an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation. Miller will serve as co-chairman alongside another Pelosi ally, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

Miller stepped aside at the start of the 113th Congress to allow for new some new blood at the top of the Steering and Policy Committee, which is responsible for doling out committee assignments and advising party leaders on a range of issues.  

Pelosi’s decision to bring her close friend back into the fold might surprise some colleagues who expected the lawmaker to use the open slot to elevate some younger Democrat with ambitions to move up the leadership ranks, or at least a member who has been waiting in the wings for an opportunity to take on more responsibilities within the House Democratic Caucus.