Grab a Chair

Congress returns to town next week for a lame-duck session fired up to pass a new stimulus package, help out the sinking U.S. auto industry and save the jobs of more than 200,000 workers.

Senate Democrats, however, also may be looking out for their own jobs. It's been a while since the chairmanships of so many committees were in play, and things could get bloody before it's all over.

It started when Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who will be 91 a week from today, agreed to give up his chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee. (His aides say he's staying on as president pro tem of the Senate, which means he will remain third in the line of succession to the president.) A relative youngster, 84-year-old Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), takes over the powerful post.

But that, under the playing rules, means Inouye gives up chairing the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, with Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) likely to move into that post.

Rockefeller's move opens the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in line to move up to chair that committee. That means Feinstein, who is in charge of the inaugural preparations as chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, would be moving just as things get rolling on the inauguration. That may mean that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) could vault an extraordinary six slots and take over the rules panel.

At some point down the road, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's health problems may force the Massachusetts Democrat to give up his chair on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The muted speculation is that Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) would take over for his close friend and mentor, opening up the banking chairmanship. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) said during the campaign that the banking post would be filled by the ailing Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).

And it could be a complete jump ball to replace the incoming vice president, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Apparently there is actually some question as to whether the Democrats will strip Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- who, on the excuse that they were close friends, campaigned relentlessly for Sen. John McCain -- of his post as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Lieberman also disparaged President-elect Barack Obama and helped GOP Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) in his race against Al Franken, and he told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that the filibuster is "one of the great protections we have."

But if Lieberman is stripped of the chairmanship, it may be that Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) will move up, which would leave Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the "mom in tennis shoes," as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

The fine irony, of course, would be if Lieberman, despite his apostasy, is allowed to keep his post -- and there's chatter he might cut a deal to forfeit only his Armed Services subcommittee chairmanship -- but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), now heading a subcommittee in charge of cleaning up toxic waste sites, is, by seniority rules, left out.

So, let's see: She pretty much equaled Obama in the Democratic primary race, with nearly 18 million votes, but lost. She nonetheless was out there all over the battleground states -- even Nebraska -- rallying the troops for Obama. And she gets bupkes? Nada? Zip?

A Hot Ticket

Clear your calendars! This is a must-go event for anyone interested in foreign policy -- and an administration job. With the most superb timing imaginable for launching a book, James B. Steinberg, said to be the leading contender for national security adviser in the Obama White House, and co-author Kurt Campbell, former Clinton administration deputy assistant secretary of defense, are having a reception tonight. At 6 p.m. at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel they'll discuss their new book, aptly titled "Difficult Transitions," with the subtitle "Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power."