With Senator Carl Levin (D. MI) retiring and Senator Tim Johnson (D. SD) still needing to decide about his political future, Senator Jack Reed (D. RI) could be in store for two big promotions:
http://news.providencejournal.com/...
Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island's senior U.S. senator, may be in line for not one, but two prestigious committee chairmanships after the 2014 election.
Sen. Carl Levin, a long-serving Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced last week he won't seek reelection.
Sen. Timothy Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is also rumored to be considering retirement.
Assuming both chairmen retire and Democrats retain control of the Senate, both committees would need new leadership after the 2014 election.
Reed is the second-ranking Democrat on both and likely next in line for either chairmanship. - Providence Journal, 3/11/13
Who knows who'll be the new Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee but Levin is hyping up Reed to be the next Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee:
http://www.defensenews.com/...
Retiring Sen. Carl Levin on Tuesday delivered a rosy endorsement of the man first in line to replace him as Senate Armed Services Committee chairman in two years.
The Michigan Democrat told reporters that SASC Vice Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., is “the perfect guy to replace me” if Senate Democrats maintain a majority in the chamber after the 2014 midterm elections.
Levin, who announced March 7 that he would not seek re-election, cited two primary reasons for endorsing Reed.
“Hopefully, Democrats keep control,” Levin said. “I think he’s great. He’ll be a terrific chairman. I just think you couldn’t do better.” - Defense News, 3/12/13
I like and trust Reed, he's a great public servant. I for one would like to see him as the Chairman of both committees. While the state of which party will control the Senate in 2015 is to be determined, it's a sure thing that Reed will be back in 2015:
http://blogs.wpri.com/...
Numbers guru Nate Silver says no senator is safer than Jack Reed heading into the 2014 elections.
“Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat, is quite popular in Rhode Island, one of the bluest states in the country, and this should be Democrats’ safest Senate race next year,” Silver wrote Wednesday in a FiveThirtyEight post analyzing whether the GOP can win back the Senate.
Silver gives Republicans a razor-thin 1% chance of defeating Reed on Nov. 4, 2014, even slimmer odds than their 3% chance of victory in New Mexico or 5% chances in Delaware, Hawaii, Virginia and Illinois.
Silver’s forecast shouldn’t be a surprise: the last Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Rhode Island was Lincoln Chafee in 2000, following his father John’s four terms – and the last non-Chafee Republican to win was Jesse H. Metcalf back in 1930, when Herbert Hoover was president. (Metcalf was ousted in 1936.) - WPRI, 2/21/13
I am hoping the Democrats still control the Senate so great men like Reed can yield more power and influence in Washington D.C. If you'd like to donate to his re-election campaign, you can do so here:
https://secure.actblue.com/...