Senator Dianne Feinstein was the top Democrat on two of the Senate’s most powerful committees

and H

his death could trigger a cascade of changes affecting California’s power in Washington.

News shortly afterwards

That broke on Friday

Feinstein, 90, had died overnight, Republican

S

leaders indicated that they

would

Don’t try to stop the Democrats from filling her

committee assignments, among others

on the

powerful judiciary and appropriations committees

.

Fulfilling such a promise would be a turnaround, if they haven’t already fulfilled a departure

of their refusal in the spring to appoint a temporary replacement for the judiciary

c

ommittee while

Feinstein

was out for months

to recover

by

a

Shingles infection.

Feinstein’s absence left Democrats without enough votes to get judicial nominees out of committee without Republican support.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told Politico he expects this

the

Senate follows precedent

And

ensure that vacancies in committees can be filled without any hassle. Republicans

earlier

said

in the spring, however

there was no precedent for temporarily replacing a sitting senator on a committee.

S

Senior Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said Republicans will not help what we see as controversial or unqualified nominees get confirmed.

Feinstein also served on the Senate Intelligence and Rules committees. Normally, senators are assigned to committees by unanimous vote, but that motion can be defeated. If a senator objects, Democrats would need 60 votes to appoint someone as a senator to fill Feinstein’s committee assignments. With an evenly divided Senate, they would need the help of ten senators to fill the committees.

But

even without delays from the Republicans,

Feinstein’s successor is not guaranteed her seats in the powerful judiciary and appropriations

c

ommittees.

And

Senate Democrats may not want to wait long to fill them either.

“It’s a complicated weekend for that

[Senate Majority Leader]

“Chuck Schumer, not just to keep the government open, but to figure out how to map out this replacement so that the Democratic Party benefits,” he said.

a

associate

P

Professor van

P

public

P

policy at Brown University Wendy Schiller, an expert on the Senate.

Until a new senator is appointed to the

Judicial power

committee, the

panel

is evenly divided with 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

California was unusual

position

of having

two senators on the Judiciary Committee.

Senator Alex

Padilla

also a democrat,

He is not expected to give up his seat, so it is unlikely that Feinstein’s successor will end up there.

special

If other senior senators are interested in the spot.

“There’s always some musical chairs when there’s a vacancy,” says Washington University

P

politics

S

science

P

Professor Steven Smith.

“

Feinstein has been around for a long time.”

Smith said much could depend on how quickly California’s governor will act. Gavin Newsom is running to fill Feinstein’s seat. If he waits

multiple

to soften

as

he participated

the

Padilla’s appointment

by Alex Padilla

anus

Than-

Senator Kamala Harris was tapped as Joe Biden’s vice president, Schumer could say

Legal committee

replacement quickly in an effort to keep Biden’s judicial nominees moving.

Senator Ben

jamin L.

Cardin (D-Md.) was put forward last spring as Feinstein’s temporary replacement on the committee.

He has since announced plans to retire at the end of this Congress and has been named Senate Foreign Relations Chairman.

Moving

a

senator to a new committee

want to be

just the beginning of the shuffle, Schiller said.

‘Smart senators who have successful careers think very seriously about their committee assignments.

I

“It’s the biggest part of how they form their reputation, especially in their first six years. It’s a complex chess game.”

As for Feinstein’s position on Senate Appropriations

c

ommittee, look for it

to eat

would rarely go to a freshman senator,

special

someone who has no intention of running for a full term

as would likely be the case with whoever Newsom appoints as Feinstein’s successor

. However, it could be a logical move for Padilla, Schiller said

WHO

ran ahead and won a full term

after initially being appointed to his Senate seat

.

Home to

more than 10% of

US

population,

California

usual

sees one of his senators received

a seat on the credits

c

ommittee, who decides how the government appropriates money, or the armed forces

c

ommittee. Padilla could choose to let go of his seat at Environment and Public Works

c

committee in exchange for more power over appropriations, Schiller said.

A spokesperson for Padilla

told The Times

Any committee changes are not up for debate so soon after Feinstein’s death.