Sessions may get nudged out of Budget chairmanship
Yellowhammer (Sims 11/20) "In the U.S. Senate where seniority is paramount, Alabama's delegation is incredibly well positioned. Sen. Richard Shelby will be the 7th most senior member of the body when it convenes in January of 2015, and he appears to be in line to chair the Senate Banking Committee.
"Sen. Jeff Sessions will be either the 18th or 19th most senior member of the body, depending on whether (Louisiana Senator Mary) Landrieu ends up pulling off a long shot victory in her runoff. As the current ranking member of the Budget Committee under Democratic control, Sessions seemed to be in line to chair the Budget Committee once Republicans assume the majority. But in a surprising development that has played out over the last several days, Republican Sen. Michael Enzi of Wyoming now appears poised to nudge Sen. Sessions out of the way and will likely take the Budget chairmanship for himself.
"The most common question was, 'If Sen. Sessions was the top Republican on the Budget Committee under Democratic control, why wouldn't he be the top Republican on the Budget Committee under Republican control? The simple answer is 'seniority'.
"Sen. Sessions and Sen. Enzi were both elected to the Senate in 1996. Sessions, however, is more senior than Enzi as a result of tie-breakers, like state population. However - and this is where it gets a little more complicated - when senators are elected in the same year, committee seniority is actually decided by drawing lots. And way back in 1996, the random process placed Sen. Enzi one spot ahead of Sen. Sessions when it comes to committee seniority.
"So even though Sessions has been the ranking member of the Budget Committee for the last several years while Enzi focused more on the Health Committee, most members of the Senate will see it as well within Enzi's right to take the Budget chairmanship if he wants it, which he says he does.
"That's unfortunate for Alabama, because having Sessions atop that powerful of a committee would have been a big deal for the state. And even more importantly, having the 'Conservative Conscience of the Senate' leading the charge when it comes to addressing the nation's $18 trillion debt would have been a great thing for the country.
"But with Sessions' seniority, he will undoubtedly be a major player in his other plum committee assignments. And with the blowback continuing to build, Republican leadership is probably savvy enough to see that even if Enzi gets the Budget, conservatives all over the country are going to demand Sessions' role be increased inside the caucus in a big way."
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