WASHINGTON (AP) — Reeling from scandal, the D.C. Council is preparing to install a quiet, detail-oriented lawmaker as interim chairman.

The council will select an interim chairman at its meeting Wednesday morning.

Phil Mendelson, an at-large councilmember in his fourth term, is all but certain to be the choice. Several councilmembers have said the careful, self-effacing Mendelson will provide the steady leadership the legislative body needs.

The former chairman, Kwame Brown, resigned last week after he was charged with lying on bank loan applications. He pleaded guilty to that bank fraud charge along with a misdemeanor campaign finance violation.

Brown became the second councilmember to step down after pleading guilty to a federal offense this year. Harry Thomas Jr. admitted embezzling $350,000 from the city and is heading to prison for three years.

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