WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said Friday Rep. Silvestre Reyes' "impeccable national security credentials" make him an excellent choice to head the House Intelligence Committee in the 110th Congress.

"He has served our country as a soldier in combat, a senior law enforcement officer on our southern border, and in Congress as a member of the Select Intelligence, Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs Committees," Pelosi said in a statement.

"He understands how our troops rely on intelligence to do their jobs and to keep them safe and how policymakers need reliable and timely intelligence to make decisions that will advance our interests worldwide."

Pelosi also offered accolades to the women she passed over for the top spot -- Rep. Jane Harman of California.

"Congresswoman Jane Harman has served with distinction in her four years as Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee," Pelosi said. "She has worked tirelessly under difficult circumstances to make sure that our intelligence agencies had the resources, direction, and leadership needed to do their jobs well. In those efforts, she has been assisted ably by the other Committee Democrats."