WASHINGTON — Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson isn't wasting any time to use the power she and her fellow House Democrats won last week in the midterm elections.

The 13-term congresswoman on Wednesday announced that she would hold climate change hearings early next year at the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, the panel she is in line to lead once Democrats formally take control of the House in January.

Count the move as an early look at how Texas' most tenured House Democrat plans to shape the debate in the new Congress.

"Our rapidly changing climate and the Trump administration's efforts to take us in the wrong direction seriously jeopardize our future," she said in a joint statement with two other key Democrats. "We plan to hit the ground immediately."

The agenda puts Johnson on a collision course with President Donald Trump and the Republicans who still control the Senate. But that's not really a surprise.

Johnson has long put a spotlight on the scientific consensus about the threat posed by climate change and the role humans have played in causing the problem. The issue has taken on added urgency in recent months after a slate of natural disasters, including deadly wildfires in California.

The Texan's focus will also stand out as a dramatic departure from the approach of the House science committee's outgoing GOP leader.

Retiring Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, has used his perch atop the panel to cast doubt on mankind's role in causing climate change, saying in March that "climate alarmism has become the chant of the media and liberals who favor more government regulations."

"While I have never denied that the climate is changing, I have asked tough questions about how much the climate has changed and how much of an impact humans have had on the climate," said Smith, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election.

That viewpoint often caused tension between Smith and Johnson, who's served as the panel's top Democrat for the last several years. Tension that clearly remains.

Rep. Lamar Smith, right, has long used his leadership on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to raise doubts about humans' role in climate change. He's seen in this photo with Rep. Will Hurd, a fellow San Antonio Republican.. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) (Darren Abate / AP)

The Democrat's news release blasted the GOP as having "long ignored climate change." Johnson also recently poked at the GOP by pledging to make the House science committee a "place where science is respected and recognized as a crucial input to good policymaking."

Smith on Wednesday called Johnson's depiction "not true."

"We have a different approach, which is to let science and technology address climate change, not more government regulations and higher taxes," he said. "We need to address it. We have a different approach."

While Smith won't be around next Congress for further sparring, another Texan could fill his void.

Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood, last week announced his bid to become the top Republican on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, where he currently presides over the panel's subcommittee on energy.

"I have made it my top priority to fight for sane energy policies, research and development to spur economic growth, and investments in our long-term national interests, all while maintaining the much-needed balance of fiscal conservatism," he said last week.

Asked to comment on Johnson's planned climate change hearings, Weber said Wednesday that he looks "forward to working with incoming-Chairwoman Johnson."

"Though we all care about the environment and share a common goal of ensuring access to clean water and clean air, our policies must be based on legitimate and transparent science with achievable standards so as to avoid economic hardship for the sake of little to no environmental benefit," he said.

Two other Democrats who plan to host climate change hearings are Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, who's slated to head the House Natural Resources Committee; and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., of New Jersey, who's expected to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee.