Newly elected Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk announced a revamped leadership team and committee structure for the House of Delegates, elevating several women and lawmakers of color, reshuffling key committee chairs and creating two new standing committees as lawmakers prepare to return to Annapolis on Jan. 14 for the 2026 legislative session.

Peña-Melnyk, a Democrat who represents Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, said on Monday that the changes were designed to position the chamber to confront job losses tied to federal cuts, along with challenges related to infrastructure, energy and affordability.

“The right people have been put in the right places,” Peña-Melnyk said in a statement Monday evening, emphasizing that seniority alone would not determine leadership roles. She said she intentionally created opportunities for newer members and pledged to work more closely with Republicans and rural lawmakers.

Peña-Melnyk is the first immigrant and first Afro-Latina to serve as speaker of the Maryland House.

Under her leadership team, Baltimore City Del. Luke Clippinger will serve as speaker pro tem, replacing Baltimore County Del. Dana Stein. Montgomery County Del. David Moon will remain majority leader, while Prince George’s County Del. Ashanti Martinez will step into the majority whip role vacated by former Del. Jazz Lewis, who announced his departure the day Peña-Melnyk was elected speaker and represented the same county.

Del. C.T. Wilson, who represents Charles County, was named parliamentarian, a move that comes alongside losing his chairmanship of the Economic Matters Committee. Wilson, as well as Dels. Ben Barnes and Jheanelle Wilkins briefly explored bids for speaker before withdrawing to clear the field for Peña-Melnyk.

The speaker’s leadership slate underscores shifting power dynamics in the House. Women make up a majority — 12 of 20 — of the chairs, vice chairs and floor leaders Peña-Melnyk named, and lawmakers from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties account for more than half of the posts, including the speakership. The remaining leadership positions are spread among Baltimore City and the following counties: Allegany, Charles, Baltimore, Frederick and Howard.

Republican leadership remains unchanged, with Allegany County Del. Jason Buckel continuing as minority leader and Frederick County Del. Jesse Pippy remaining minority whip.

In her statement, Peña-Melnyk said she and Buckel “agreed to establish a rural caucus” with a direct line to House leadership, an effort aimed at amplifying voices from outside the state’s urban and suburban core.

“With so much of Maryland’s representation coming from the urban and suburban center of our state, I know that Western Maryland, the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland are not always at the table,” Peña-Melnyk said. “This [caucus] will elevate their voice and ensure that they are heard.”

Buckel praised Peña-Melnyk for what he described as “good faith outreach” and said Republican leaders would respond in kind.

“We hope it’s a more focused opportunity for members representing areas outside of the metro/Beltway corridors to have input into policies that can have a substantial impact on their communities and are often overlooked in Annapolis,” Buckel said in a text message to The Baltimore Sun. He added that GOP leaders hope the initiative would lead to “a more balanced and reasonable approach” on issues affecting rural Maryland.

Peña-Melnyk also announced a series of committee leadership changes reshaping power across several major policy areas.

Barnes, who represents Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, will remain chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, with Montgomery County Del. Anne Kaiser replacing Anne Arundel County Del. Mark Chang as vice chair.

On the Judiciary Committee, Del. J. Sandy Bartlett, who also represents Anne Arundel County, was elevated from vice chair to chair, replacing Clippinger. Charles County Del. Debra Davis was named vice chair.

Peña-Melnyk also split the former Health and Government Operations Committee — which she previously chaired — into two new committees: Health, and Labor, Elections and Government, a significant structural change likely to shape debate over health care, labor policy and elections this session.

Anne Arundel County Del. Heather Bagnall was named chair of the new Health Committee, with Del. Bonnie Cullison, who represents Montgomery County and previously vice chaired the combined committee, as vice chair. Baltimore City Del. Melissa Wells will chair the new Labor, Elections and Government Committee, with Frederick County Del. Kenneth Kerr serving as vice chair.

On Economic Matters, Prince George’s County Del. Kriselda Valderrama was named chair, replacing Wilson, while Montgomery County Del. Lorig Charkoudian was named vice chair.

Montgomery County Del. Jheanelle Wilkins was elevated to chair of the Ways and Means Committee following the departure of former chair Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, who represented Howard County. Del. Jessica Feldmark, who represents the same district Atterbeary represented, will serve as vice chair.

“I am deeply grateful to Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk for her trust and confidence in my leadership and policy expertise,” Wilkins said in a separate statement Monday, adding that she plans to pursue policies that are “equitable, fiscally responsible, and responsive to the needs of communities across Maryland.”

Montgomery County Del. Marc Korman will remain chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee, with Baltimore County Del. Michele Guyton replacing Baltimore City Del. Regina Boyce as vice chair.

The Rules and Executive Nominations Committee was the only panel left unchanged, continuing under Prince George’s County leadership of Del. Anne Healey as chair and Del. Marvin Holmes Jr. as vice chair.

Peña-Melnyk’s office said committee assignments, joint committees, caucuses and whip teams will be announced soon.

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