Senate panels face new game of musical chairs

For the second time in less than 18 months, Senate committees face a change in who will wield the gavel as a result of the Republicans recapturing control in Tuesday's elections.

Following is a list of which senators are likely to chair some of the key standing committees in the new Congress-with a few senior senators having several options from which to choose. Due to Senate GOP rules limiting committee chairmen to three two-year terms, several prospective chairmen will have to vacate their posts at the end of the 108th Congress-two years from now:

• Agriculture: With Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who chaired this panel for much of the 1990s, likely to move over to chair the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is in line to take over.
• Appropriations: Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who chaired this panel from early 1997 until the Democrats grabbed control of the Senate in the middle of last year, is expected to reclaim his old post.
• Armed Services: Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is this panel's once and future chairman.
• Banking: Current ranking member Phil Gramm, R-Texas, is retiring, leaving the chairmanship to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
• Budget: Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has the option of spending another two years as chairman of this panel or instead claiming the chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. If he takes over the Energy panel, current Senate Minority Whip Nickles-who must leave his present post due to term-limit rules-would grab the Budget portfolio.
• Commerce: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who chaired this panel for four years prior to the Democratic takeover in 2001, is poised to return.
• Energy and Natural Resources: Current ranking member Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, a former chairman, was elected governor of Alaska Tuesday. Domenici is next in seniority and if he takes the Budget panel, Nickles will end up with the Energy and Natural Resources chairmanship.
• Environment and Public Works: Current ranking member Bob Smith, R-N.H., was defeated for renomination. Warner is next in seniority, but he wants the Armed Services gavel. That leaves Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who is likely to give this panel a significantly more conservative tilt than it has had in recent years under either Democratic or Republican chairmen.
• Finance: Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who had a brief tenure chairing this panel in early 2001, will be back for a second stint.
• Foreign Relations: Lugar chaired this panel for a couple of years in the mid-1980s before Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., invoked his seniority and grabbed the gavel. With Helms retiring, Lugar is poised to take the gavel back.
• Governmental Affairs: With the retirement of ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., Stevens is next in line-but is expected to take the Appropriations chairmanship. Next in line to chair Governmental Affairs-which exercised key jurisdiction over homeland security this year-is Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is a former Governmental Affairs staffer.
• Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: When Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., bolted the GOP last year, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., became the top Republican on this panel-and will now assume the chairmanship.
• Judiciary: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will be back as chairman.