Specter Party Switch Raises Questions About Committee Chairs, Obama Nominees

Sen. Arlen Specter's (Pa.) switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party is setting the stage for fights over whether the senator's seniority will allow him to replace Democrats who chair Senate subcommittees, Politico reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had told Specter, who first was elected in 1980, that he would retain his seniority when he changed parties. This would mean that Specter would surpass most Democrats on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which directs billions of dollars in government spending, and be eligible for several other subcommittee chairs. Reid said Wednesday that no one would lose a subcommittee chair in the current Congress but that the issue is still in question for the next Congress, Politico reports.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who joined the Senate in 1985, said that Specter should not be more senior than him on the Appropriations Committee. "It doesn't work that way," Harkin said, adding that he has no intention of giving up his position as chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee to Specter in the current or next Congress. In addition to Harkin, Specter would have seniority over eight other Democratic senators who currently hold subcommittee chairs, according to Politico (Raju, Politico, 4/30).

Fate of Nominees Remains in Contention

Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats are speculating over how Specter's party switch could affect the confirmation process for President Obama's nominees for the judiciary and other posts, Roll Call reports. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) indicated Wednesday that Republicans, who now hold 40 seats in the Senate, might try to use a policy known as the "blue slip" to attempt to delay Obama's judicial picks. The blue slip policy allows any senator to place a hold on a judicial nominee from the senator's home state. DeMint said, "Well, we're outnumbered, obviously. I think we've reminded the president we will blue slip judges if senators from their states disagree."

Although Specter has aligned with Democrats on many issues, he has a "long-standing, conservative philosophy on judges" that Republicans and conservative advocacy groups do not expect to change, according to Roll Call. Democratic aides also said they expect Specter to continue to vote with Republicans with regard to judicial nominees. Specter also opposes Dawn Johnsen, Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (Drucker, Roll Call, 4/30).


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