Corey Boles Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Ted Kaufman, a long-time adviser and former chief of staff to Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, has been appointed as Biden's replacement in the Senate, Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner said Monday.
Kaufman is a member of the advisory board of President-elect Barack Obama's transition project, and is co-chair of Biden's transition team.
He was an adviser to Biden during the presidential campaign, having worked in his senate office for more than two decades until 1994, the bulk of those as chief of staff.
"I believe Ted Kaufman meets every test I set for this appointment," said Minner. "His political views are close to Senator Biden's, and he doesn't need any on-the-job training. He'll be an effective senator for Delaware from day one."
Kaufman's appointment has been seen by some political observers as a short-term replacement. It is widely believed that Biden would like his son, Beau, the attorney general of Delaware and a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard, to replace him in the Senate.
Beau Biden was sent to Iraq with the state's National Guard in early October.
"I can see Kaufman doing it as icing on the cake on a long and prosperous career," said Jennifer Duffy, senate editor at the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
Duffy said she wouldn't expect Kaufman to serve in the Senate for too long before stepping down to enable Beau Biden to replace him.
Biden won re-election for his seventh term in the November elections. That means that if Kaufman's appointment is a short-term one, he would have to resign mid-term, or Beau Biden would have to wait six years to seek office to replace his father.
Since he left Biden's senate office, Kaufman has run Public Strategies, a political consulting firm based in Wilmington, Del.
Since 1991, Kaufman has lectured at the Duke University of Law, as well as the Fuqua School of Business and the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, both also connected to Duke University in North Carolina.
He was appointed a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors in 1995, a panel that outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also sits on.
The board encompasses all U.S. civilian international broadcasting including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other international broadcasting entities.
He previously worked for the Dupont de Nemours & Co. (DD), one of Delaware's most prominent companies.
Minner said she expects Kaufman to be sworn into the Senate in mid-January, 2009. He will join Democratic Sen. Thomas Carper representing Delaware in the Senate.
-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 24, 2008 16:52 ET (21:52 GMT)

Publié le 24 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones