Digital Bulletin

WASHINGTON -- The shift of Senate control to the Democrats will intensify the surge of clout for increasingly "blue" New England, with key new committee chairmanships among the gains.

Veteran Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy may best personify the dramatic change. He will be the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which controls nominations to the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Leahy will thus represent new-found Democratic power to curb the rightward shift that President Bush has achieved with the seating of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the high court. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed will regain the seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee that he held for the 18-month interval of Democatic Senate rule during President Bush's first term. Appropriators hold the pursestrings on most government programs. Reed's ascent could give Rhode Island a formidable one-two punch in the continual struggle to secure  federal dollars for the state, since Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Reed, already a Democratic voice in military affairs, will rise in seniority on the Senate Armed Services Committee and become chairman of the panel's subcommittee with jurisdiction over emerging military threats around the globe. Reed's close associate, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., will replace Republican Sen. John Warner as Armed Services Committee chairman.

Democratic power will get an early showcase next year as Levin, Reed and their colleagues question former CIA chief Robert Gates, Mr. Bush's choice to replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at committee hearings to weigh the question of whether the full Senate should confirm Gates's nomination.

The new Congress will convene in January, following a brief "lame duck" session expected to begin as soon as next week.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has signaled that as the new chairman off the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he will move quickly to push pass an increase in the minimum wage. He will replace New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg as chairman.

The new chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will be Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd. He will preside opposite Fall River-area Rep. Barney Frank, who will lead the counterpart panel in the House.

Connecticut Sen. Joseph  I. Lieberman, given up for politically dead after his Democratic primary loss last summer, now holds a key seat in the new Democratic majority.  He won reelection Tuesday as an independent but has pledged to caucus with the Democrats.

Lieberman is in line to become chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, now chaired by Maine Republican Susan Collins. Because of possible reshuffling of personnel on other committees, however, it is not yet clear where Lieberman will preside.

Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry likewise faces several options in the new Congress. He is a high-ranking member of the committees on commerce, finance and foreign relations, each of which have key subcommittees.

Democrats will control eight of New England 's twelve Senate seats in the 110^th Congress. At least 20 of the region's 22 House seats will be Democratic. Connecticut Republican Rep. Chris Shays was narrowly reelected. New London-area Rep. Rob Simmons trails Democrat Joe Courtney by a relative handful of votes in an election that may be recounted.