Acting Chair of the House Government and Oversight Committee Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), speaks during a media briefing after a House vote approving rules for an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Democrats chose Representative Carolyn Maloney Wednesday to lead a key committee that is involved in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

Maloney, 73, of New York, will take the helm at the House Oversight and Reform Committee at a pivotal moment, as Democrats are pushing to finish the impeachment inquiry and take a House floor vote by the end of this year.

She has been the acting chairwoman of the panel since the death in October of Representative Elijah Cummings. Maloney is the first woman to head the committee and was chosen by a vote of her fellow House Democrats, defeating Representative Gerald Connolly 133-86.

The powerful Oversight Committee is one of three congressional panels leading an impeachment inquiry that was launched on Sept. 24 by Democrats, who have the majority in the House. The other committees involved are the Intelligence Committee, which has been holding public hearings, and the Judiciary Committee.

The Oversight panel is also involved in multiple investigations of Trump’s personal finances and possible abuses at federal agencies.

A member of Congress since 1993, Maloney represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She had sought the top slot on the Oversight Committee in 2011, but lost then to Cummings.

An advocate of women’s issues and a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, she played a role in enacting the Dodd-Frank financial reform law in 2010.