Pelosi's 3 'Super' Picks: Becerra, Clyburn, Van Hollen

The "super committee" is complete: Nancy Pelosi filled in the final three positions of the 12-member panel today by picking James Clyburn of South Carolina, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Xavier Becerra of California, reports the Hill. Clyburn and Becerra are the top-ranking African-American and Latino lawmakers in Congress and they hold top spots on Pelosi's leadership team, notes the Washington Post. Van Hollen is the top Democrat on the House budget panel.

No word yet on when the super committee will sit down for its first meeting to begin the quest for $1.5 trillion in budget cuts. “We must achieve a ‘grand bargain’ that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security," said Pelosi in announcing the picks. She also called for the meetings to be open. Click to read one view on why that's a bad idea, or to see the six GOP picks or the other three Democratic picks. (More Nancy Pelosi stories.)