Feingold could become Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee if Kerry nominated John Byrne

Published: Tuesday November 11, 2008





Print This Email This If Sen. John Kerry becomes President-Elect Barack Obama's Secretary of State, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairmanship will likely pass to one of the most outspoken critics of the Bush Administration and the only senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act: Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.



"Speaking of secretary of state, it's looking increasingly like Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) may get the nod for that post, a possibility that is driving some Senate Democrats to distraction," Washington Post insider and In The Loop columnist Al Kamen revealed Tuesday.



Kamen said Democrats in Congress are nervous about the appointment because Kerry would be the third member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to depart.



Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Joe Biden has been elected Vice President; Sen. Chris Dodd has announced he's staying on as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee; Kerry would be third in line of seniority.



Next in line to chair the committee is Sen. Feingold.



In March 2006, Feingold introduced a resolution to censure President George W. Bush for his illegal wiretapping program, but the resolution was never votes on. He called for Bush's censure again in 2007 over the war in Iraq.



Feingold was also one of just 23 senators to vote against the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq.



Writes Kamen, "That means the Obama administration, in addition to getting smacked around from the right on foreign policy matters, could find itself hammered from the left as well."



Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Sen. Barack Obama voted against the bill authorizing the use of military force in Iraq. Obama was not yet in the Senate.



