I was drawn in by the seductive logic of the Baltimore Sun‘s prediction that in the wake of the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, a series of promotions would put our own Sen. Barb Mikulski in a position to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee, but “in an unexpected move” — unexpected for the Sun, anyway — the first two senators in line to take over Appropriations turned it down, and the gavel fell to Mikulski.
But as far as Maryland continuing to get plenty of attention from the federal government, this is even better. Chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee puts Mikulski very close to the cash, and that should be good for the state.
Oh and for those of you keeping score, Sen. Mikulski is the first woman to chair the committee.
A much better fit for her than the Intelligence Committee