Feinstein Preparing to Lead Senate Judiciary as Leahy Ascends Democratic Hierarchy
The death of Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, will create new vacancies atop both the Judiciary and Commerce committees in the next session of Congress, lawmakers said Tuesday. Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., now the longest serving member of the upper chamber, was sworn in as the new president pro tempore on Tuesday and could now succeed Inouye as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday she will likely become the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee after Leahy announces his departure from the committee. Separately, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said no decision had been made on who would fill the Commerce seat vacated by Inouye, who passed on Monday night after suffering from a respiratory illness.
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Feinstein told reporters “yes, it looks that way,” when asked during an interview at the Capitol if she would become the next Judiciary chairman. Feinstein said her agenda as chairman in the next session would include immigration reform, among other issues. Feinstein is third in the Democratic line of seniority on the committee, behind Leahy and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who is retiring at the end of this year. Kohl had no comment.
Any formal decisions regarding the Judiciary gavel would be announced within the next “24 hours,” Leahy told reporters. Inouye’s death was “sudden,” Leahy said after being sworn in as president pro tempore. “Out of respect for Senator Inouye we ought to be able to wait at least 24 hours,” he said.
Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us in an interview at the Capitol the likely rise of Feinstein to committee chairman was “good news.” “I have found her willing to separate herself from the rest of her caucus more than anybody else on that side of the aisle, so I think that for the bipartisanship that the Senate ought to have, she would be a good person for that. Senator Leahy and I get along very well, the only difference now is that you have to create a new relationship -- but I think that will be easy,” he said. Feinstein and Grassley co-chair the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, and he described their relationship on that panel as “very good. … I expect that we will have the same relationship on the Judiciary Committee. … It’s very good news as far as I'm concerned.”
Feinstein, who was reelected in November, now is chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She co-sponsored the failed Cybersecurity Act (S-3414) and urged President Barack Obama to issue an executive order to increase the cybersecurity of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Feinstein authored S-3276 to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until June 1, 2015, a bill which has faced resistance from some Democrats for privacy concerns related to foreign electronic information gathering. She authored the Data Breach Notification Act (S-1408), sponsored legislation to restrict election-related robocalls and recently asked multichannel video programming distributors to expand energy-efficiency efforts.
Inouye’s passing also leaves vacant a seat on Senate Commerce, which has not yet been assigned by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Rockefeller told us he had not recommended anyone to replace Inouye on the panel: “There are a lot of good people and a lot of good people want to be on the Commerce Committee.” The committee will now have at least two new majority members next session, following Inouye’s passing and the departure of Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M, who will join the Senate Appropriations Committee. Rockefeller announced last week that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would replace Udall on the committee.
Rockefeller described Feinstein as a leader who is “very, very strong, very tough, and very fair.” Rockefeller said Feinstein and he have “worked really well together” on the Intelligence Committee and was optimistic about their history of working on telecom and technology issues. Both the Commerce and Judiciary committees will endeavor to pass a reauthorization bill next session to extend the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, which expires Dec. 31, 2014.
Broadcasters lose a champion in Inouye, who authored the retransmission consent provision in the 1992 Cable Act. “Broadcasters have lost a friend, and our country has lost a man of bipartisan decency and integrity,” said NAB President Gordon Smith in a news release. “While the Senate Commerce Committee lost a great leader in Mr. Inouye, there are certainly many bright younger players likely to make strong contributions as the committee turns to the new high tech challenges of the digital 21st century,” said Amy Mehlman, a Republican telecom lobbyist at Mehlman Capitol Strategies.