Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

August 26, 2009

Kennedy Passing Sets Off Senate Shuffle

Sen. Ted Kennedy's death sparks a shuffle of key Senate committee assignments. 

It's still unclear who will succeed Kennedy as chairman at the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, though Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is next in line in terms of seniority. Dodd led the committee's health care reform mark up earlier this summer in Kennedy's absence.

However, Dodd currently chairs the Senate Banking Committee, which has put him in the middle of some of the biggest legislative initiatives of the last year -- such as the $700 billion bank bailout and a current effort to rewrite the financial services regulatory laws. It's not clear he would want to give that up.

If Dodd were to stay on the banking committee, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is next in line for the HELP committee. If Dodd does take over Kennedy's chairmanship, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) ranks next in seniority at the banking commitee. However, given Johnson's health, Democrats might instead turn to Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).

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Taegan D. Goddard is the creator of Political Wire, a political column updated around the clock with the most interesting news, buzz and commentary.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

This is a personal site and does not necessarily reflect the views of any company, political campaign or advocacy group.

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