Possible Change in Senate, Too

On the Senate side, the major question is whether the Democrats will continue to allow Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., to chair the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Lieberman is a former Democrat and kept his seniority with that party after becoming an independent but supported Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the presidential campaign. If Lieberman is forced out, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the federal workforce subcommittee, could take over the committee, although he would have to give up his chairmanship of the Veterans Affairs Committee to do it. After him, the most likely chairman would be Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. The ranking Republican there, Susan Collins of Maine, won reelection. In addition to the full committee chairmanships, there often is a round of musical chairs in subcommittees after an election. Often it is several months before such decisions are finalized and committee assignments are made.