(Updates with Feinstein spokesman declining comment)
By Corey Boles Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will seek the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee when Senate Democrats meet next week to determine leadership positions, a senior Democratic Senate aide said Friday.
Rockefeller is almost certain to win the post because he is the most senior member of the panel. In the Senate, seniority largely determines committee chairmanship assignments.
The job is one of the most important roles in the Senate for the business community; the committee has wide-ranging oversight authority for the aviation, telecommunications, transportation, consumer-product-safety and fisheries industries.
The chairmanship became available with the current chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, moving to take the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee to replace Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who is stepping down as chairman.
Rockefeller is currently chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has a lower profile but also can be important for business.
It was the intelligence panel that was instrumental in crafting the deal this year that effectively granted telecommunications companies immunity from civil lawsuits alleging they helped the federal government illegally listen to U.S. citizens' phone calls and read their emails.
Rockefeller could be replaced as head of the Intelligence Committee by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who said last week that she would "welcome the responsibility."
Senate Democrats are expected to gather Tuesday when leadership elections will be held.
Spokesmen for Rockefeller andFeinstein declined to comment, with both saying the senators wouldn't engage in speculation about committee assignments.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wasn't immediately available to comment.
Other important leadership decisions that have yet to be made include whether Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will assume the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is being vacated by Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
There has been some speculation that Kerry may be on the short list to become secretary of state in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Were he not to take over leadership of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., would be next in line for the job.
Another matter still to be determined is the fate of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. Lieberman has caucused with the Democrats for the last two years, and has been chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. However, he was one of the closest allies of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and campaigned aggressively for him during the election.
Lieberman met last week with Reid to discuss his future. It's looking increasingly as though Lieberman will remain in the Democratic caucus and retain his chairmanship.
Obama has stated publicly that he believes that Lieberman should stay in the caucus, and several senior Democratic senators have made similar comments.
But Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Lieberman's New England neighbor, said in an interview with National Public Radio in Vermont that he didn't think Lieberman should be allowed to keep his chairmanship.
With the Democrats having gained at least six Senate seats in the Nov. 4 elections, the party no longer requires Lieberman to retain its majority in the chamber.
There continue to be three Senate races outstanding.
In Alaska, long-term incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican, is narrowly trailing his challenger, Democrat Mark Begich, mayor of Anchorage. There are still around 30,000 votes left to be counted.
The Minnesota race between one-term Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, and former comic Al Franken, a Democrat, is in a dead heat, with Coleman leading by fewer than 400 votes. That result is set to be certified next week, which will trigger an automatic recount that may not be completed until mid-December.
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss was forced into a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin, a former member of the General Assembly in Georgia. That will be held on Dec. 2.
Were the Democrats to win all three of the races, they would reach a 60-seat super-majority in the Senate, but few expect that to happen.
-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 14, 2008 18:27 ET (23:27 GMT)

Publié le 15 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones