Here’s a reminder of why you read this blog. From today’s Washington Post:
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has decided against succeeding his close friend and mentor, the late Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) as chairman of the Senate’s health committee, a senior Senate aide said Tuesday night.
The decision sets in motion a final game of musical chairs involving committee chairmanships after Kennedy’s death.
Dodd’s decision leaves the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who follows Dodd in seniority. Multiple sources in the Harkin orbit, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that he is certain to take over the HELP committee.
Harkin is currently chairman of the Agriculture Committee and would have to give up that position. He would likely be replaced at Agriculture by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who faces a difficult reelection bid in 2010.
And, what I wrote on August 27th.
Now that Teddy Kennedy has passed on, the Senate is about to embark on a game of musical committee chairs. How it plays out will have consequences, so I want to run through it for you…
…Another scenario occurs if Dodd decides to stay at Banking so that he can clean up the mess and complete the work he has already started. In that case, the next in line for the HELP chair is Tom Harkin of Iowa. Harkin would be a fantastic replacement for Kennedy there, but he already chairs the Agriculture Committee. (I told you this was a game of musical chairs, didn’t I?) So, what happens if Harkin decides to take the HELP chair and give up the Agriculture chair?
Here’s where it gets interesting because the next three Dems in line for the Agriculture chair already have chairs on more influential committees: (Leahy on Judiciary, Conrad on Budget, and Baucus on Finance). That means that Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas would probably inherit the chair of Agriculture and that would give her reelection prospects a big boost. What that would mean for agricultural policy is anybody’s guess.
Why wait for the Washington Post when you get the scoop from me?
