Now that I know what committee assignments senators Mike Bennet (D-CO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) received I can, by a process of elimination, tell you what committee assignments Al Franken will get when he is finally sworn into office. Al Franken will serve on the:
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Special Committee on Aging
Committee on Indian Affairs
I don’t think I need to tell you that these are pathetic committee assignments. No disrespect to the country’s aging population, but the Special Committee on Aging doesn’t even have the power to craft legislation. And the Indian Affairs Committee is important, but hardly a coveted slot. Norm Coleman’s quixotic thermopylaeic battle to deny Franken his seat has succeeded only in screwing Minnesota out of potential seats on Foreign Relations, Banking, Agriculture, and Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Those seats went to Mike Bennet of Colorado and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
When Franken finally takes his seat he will be able to make a mark on education, health, and labor policy. But he will do it as the 100 ranking member of the Senate and lowest ranking member of his committee. Good job, Coleman, you asshole.