Power Plays on the Hill

Today Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget is likely to face tough questions from Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd for the Bush Administration's "emergency supplemental request" of $108 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Approximately $102.5 billion will go towards the Defense department, while the State Department will receive about $5.4 billion.

While Chairman Byrd is grilling Nussle, Senate Democrats will be considering whether its time to ask the longest serving Senator to step down from the chairmanship, given his old age and recent health problems, according to the Politico. Both Byrd's staff and Senate majority leader Reid have attempted to calm the brewing storm, denying reports that Senate Democrats would "dethrone a living legend." According to The Hill, Senator Patrick Leahy has privately expressed interest in replacing the ailing Chairman Byrd. Publicly the Vermont Senator has denied this statement, yet four democratic aides have confirmed that private discussions have been taking place. Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye is next in line for the post and will be "managing" the war supplemental, the legislative term for shepherding the funding bill through the Senate.

This comes as the congressional democratic leadership are considering plans to split the Administration's funding requests for Iraq and Afghanistan, in order to gain support for Afghanistan funding from the Out of Iraq Caucus, who vows to oppose any more funding for Iraq. This would also clearly result in a Washington power struggle, and mark a difference in the two parties foreign policy agenda at a politically salient time, just before the November elections.

Lastly, Senator Lieberman has publicly come out in favor of Senator McCain, possibly jeopardizing his chairmanship on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee should the Democrats gain more Senate seats in the upcoming November elections.

For more information on the war supplemental.