Senators poised to take on panel chairman posts of retiring Dems

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) are poised to assume the chairmanships left vacant by retiring Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan, Democratic aides said.

Johnson would replace Dodd (D-Conn.) at the top of Senate Banking Committee; Cantwell would take over for Dorgan (D-N.D.) on the Indian Affairs Committee.

A source close to Johnson said the lawmaker is “absolutely ready” to take over the Banking Committee, despite still struggling with the effects of a brain hemorrhage suffered in 2006.

A senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in September that Johnson would take over the Banking panel if Dodd left. At the time, Dodd considered filling the chairmanship on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee left open after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) died. But Dodd kept the top slot on Banking, and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) ended up taking the HELP chairmanship.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Banking Committee and Democratic leadership, also said in September that Johnson would be the next Banking chairman.

Dorgan’s surprise announcement on Tuesday that he would retire at the end of the year created the vacancy atop the Indian Affairs Committee.

The next four ranking Democrats on the panel, including Johnson, are expected to chair other committees — assuming Democrats, who effectively control 60 seats, maintain their Senate majority.

Senate Democratic Conference rules do not allow lawmakers to chair two regular committees simultaneously, putting Cantwell in line to take over Indian Affairs.

A spokesman for Cantwell did not immediately return a request for comment.

Sens. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) chair the Appropriations, Budget and Veterans’ Affairs committees, respectively.

Jon Yoshimura, a spokesman for Akaka, said his boss feels a strong commitment to serving veterans.

“He has been on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee since being elected in 1990 and he really feels a commitment to the veterans,” said Yoshimura.

Akaka believes he has a big job ahead of him as veterans return from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We’re in the midst of creating a new generation of veterans,” said Yoshimura.

Dorgan’s retirement also opens up a leadership slot. He is the chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, a post that traditionally has served as a steppingstone to the top ranks of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Former Majority Leaders Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) served as chairmen of the committee. Reid co-chaired the panel with Daschle from 1996 to 1999.

Schumer and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are all potential candidates for the Policy Committee.
 
The retirements of Dodd and Dorgan will open seats on the Appropriations, Banking, Commerce, Energy, Foreign Relations and HELP committees.

It is too early to say who may fill their positions on those panels. Democrats may lose committee seats depending on the results of this year’s election, which may also rearrange seniority in the chamber depending on who wins reelection.