Clinton Senate Seat Timing Could Have Historic Implications
With Hillary Clinton headed for the State Department, the question now on everyone's mind is whom Gov. David Paterson will appoint to replace her.
Names bubbling closest to the surface include New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, and Caroline Kennedy, a generally politics-avoiding heir of the famous family. Bill Clinton's name was floated on Tuesday morning, but a spokesman for the former president summarily shot the rumor down.
And yet, there are highly consequential aspects to the naming of Clinton's Senate replacement beyond who actually gets the nod. When that appointment is made and, more specifically, when that person is sworn into office could have long-term, historical implications.
Regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, Clinton's replacement will be one of the lowest ranking Democrats entering the next Senate. If, however, Clinton were to resign from her seat early -- under the tacit understanding that she will be confirmed as Secretary of State -- and Patterson were to make a quick decision on who will take the seat, that individual could be sworn into office before the newly-elected members on January 3rd. Senate rules subsequently dictate that Clinton's replacement would be higher-ranked within the party.
Following another hypothetical, if Clinton were to step down as Senator and her replacement were to be sworn in with the newly elected members on January 3rd, then he or she will have seniority determined by previous political experience. As Norm Ornstein, a leading expert on these wonky procedural matters, told the Huffington Post: "If you are a House member you get ahead of those who didn't serve in any elected office." State office experience is valued less than federal.
In all likelihood, however, Clinton won't be relinquishing her seat until she is actually confirmed for her new job. (Ornstein advocates a system in which current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would step down from the post, President Bush would appoint Clinton, and the Senate confirm her before Obama took office -- thereby eliminating any time lapse between the office-holders. But this almost certainly won't happen.)
New York's next Senator will, in this scenario, be sworn in on January 20th. He or she may not be the lowest ranking member. Joe Biden's replacement, Ted Kaufman, could be sworn in at the same time, although he plans to only serve two years. The recount election between Al Franken and Norm Coleman may still be unresolved, meaning the comedian-turned Democratic candidate could be destined for the Senate's lowest rungs.
Either way, it seems certain that Clinton's replacement -- while getting a election-free ride to the post -- will nevertheless be near or at the bottom of the heap when it comes to party seniority. And that is not, Ornstein argues, a minor matter:
"This is something that has its relevance in two ways. The first is, if you go on a committee you become ranked in order of seniority. That matters in terms of day-to-day activities, like being in line to ask questions ... But to the degree that seniority matters in terms of who becomes committee chairs it would be 20 years down the road. The fact that you got sworn in the day after Person X did could mean that when a vacancy occurs on the Foreign Relations Committee, you are there to take it instead of him or her."
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First Posted: 12- 2-08 01:25 PM | Updated: 01- 2-09 05:12 AM