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The Democratic Policy Committee just sent out Reid's "recommendations" -- the confirmation process is, barring something unexpected, a minor formality -- for the chairmanships of the 111th Senate. They are:
Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman, Senate Special Committee on AgingSenator Tom Harkin, Chairman, Senate Committee on AgricultureSenator Daniel Inouye, Chairman, Senate Committee on AppropriationsSenator Carl Levin, Chairman, Senate Committee on Armed ServicesSenator Christopher Dodd, Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsSenator Kent Conrad, Chairman, Senate Committee on BudgetSenator John D. Rockefeller IV, Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationSenator Jeff Bingaman, Chairman, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesSenator Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman, Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksSenator Max Baucus, Chairman, Senate Committee on FinanceSenator John Kerry, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (upon the resignation of Senator Joseph Biden)Senator Edward Kennedy, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsSenator Joseph Lieberman, Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsSenator Byron Dorgan, Chairman, Senate Committee on Indian AffairsSenator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman, Senate Intelligence CommitteeSenator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Committee on JudiciarySenator Charles Schumer, Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and AdministrationSenator Mary Landrieu, Chairwoman, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (upon resignation of Senator Joseph Biden and Senator John Kerry assuming Chair of Foreign Relations)Senator Daniel Akaka, Chairman, Senate Committee on Veterans AffairsNothing too shocking. Note that Kerry moves up to chair Foreign Affairs when Biden steps down. Kerry is second in line to Dodd on the Committee, but Dodd is sticking with Banking for now. There's speculation, though, that if Kennedy has to end his term as chair of HELP, that Dodd will take over for his old friend, and Banking would go to Tim Johnson. That's not the world's most heartening news given South Dakota's peculiar relationship to the credit industry.
