Since the odds are increasingly good that Joe Biden will be movin' on up from Delaware's Class 2 Senate Seat to the Senate President's cushy perch (which the VP rarely sits in), what will happen when he is no longer on the Senate, more specifically chairing the Foreign Relations Committee?
This was inspired by this article in CQ Politics that I just read, but they actually downplay the huge number of possibilities if you go a certain way; you need a flowchart to keep up.
One thing it really drives home is how doubled up seniority on all these committees is. It's like a Hapsburg family tree.
Okay, so Joe Biden is the #1 guy on Foreign Relations, which is one of the most desired perches in the Senate. If he leaves, it will become available. The next two men are:
- Senator Christopher Dodd of Conneticut
- Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
Both of these esteemed gentlemen already hold committee chairmanships, which they would have to give up, since you can't chair more than one committee at once (both legally, and, I imagine, practically; the workload would be staggering). The first scenario is the cleanest:
(1) Christopher Dodd resigns as chair of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
(i) He is replaced by Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who holds no chairmanship. There, that was simple.
However, as the article speculates, given the rather tough economic times we find ourselves in, what if Dodd decides to stay where he is? In that case, it's Kerry's turn, and I think the choice between Foreign Relations and the committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a lot clearer (not that that isn't important or anything, just way less prestigious).
(2) Kerry becomes chair of Foreign Relations.
(i) The #2 spot on Small Business is Carl Levin of Michigan, the head of Armed Services. There's no realistic chance of Carl giving up the latter for the former, but hypothetically if he did:
(a) The #2 spot on Armed Services is Teddy Kennedy of Massachusetts, Chair of Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (is it by design that that acronyms to HELP?); setting aside that Teddy would probably also stay where he is, the #2 on HELP is...Chris Dodd. Followed by Tom Harkin (who we'll see again later), then Barbara Mikulski.
(b) The #3 spot on Armed Services is Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Chair of Appropriations. Byrd will leave that chairmanship in his coffin; end of story.
(c) The #4 spot on Armed Services is He Who Must Not Be Named. With a little luck, this will not be the case come January. We will dispense with any further exploration of this road, considering it irrelevant.
(d) The #5 (!) spot on Armed Services is Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Finally, this avenue ends.
(ii) The more realistic candidate for Small Business, Tom Harkin of Iowa. Except, darnit, he also chairs a committee, Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
(a) The #2 on Agriculture, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who is, of course, Judiciary Chairman; he ain't going anywhere, but if he did, #2 is Teddy Kennedy, followed by the man himself, Joe Biden, and then Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.
(b) The #3 on Agriculture is Kent Conrad of North Dakota; who is Chairman of the Budget Committee. Likewise, he isn't leaving that, but if he did, next up would be Patty Murray of Washington.
(c) The #4 on Agriculture is Max Baucus of Montana, who is the chair of the Finance Committee; likewise, not leaving, but if he did, next in line is Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia (Intelligence Select Chair), then, guh, Kent Conrad, then Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, who is the Energy Committee Chair (next in line, Daniel Akaka, who chairs the Veterans committee, where the next in line is...Jay Rockefeller).
(d) The #5 on Agriculture is Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.
(iii) Third in line on Small Business is, ugh, He Who Must Not Be Named (see earlier disclaimer).
(iv) Fourth in line is Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
So, in conclusion, take the Foreign Relations gig, Chris, and save your colleagues an organizational headache of epic proportions.