Lott, Daschle discuss sharing power in Senate
From CNN Congressional Correspondent Chris Black
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate leaders Trent Lott and Tom Daschle spent an hour behind closed doors Thursday morning in their first discussion of how Democrats and Republicans could share power in an evenly divided Senate in the 107th Congress.
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Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle
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The meeting was inconclusive, but Senate Majority Leader Lott, R-Mississippi, and Senate Minority Leader Daschle, D-South Dakota, agreed to hold regular discussions and try to reach an agreement by the end of December. The new Senate will convene on January 3, 2001.
If George W. Bush becomes president and Sen. Joe Lieberman, Vice President Al Gore's running mate, stays in the Senate, the chamber will be divided 50-50 between the two parties -- the first time since 1881 the two parties have the same number of seats.
If Gore's challenge to the Florida presidential results succeeds and Lieberman becomes vice president, Connecticut's Republican governor is likely to appoint a fellow Republican to Lieberman's seat: That would give the GOP a 51-49 edge in the upper chamber.
"We had a discussion about the agenda for the next year and how we're going to work together," Lott said after the meeting.
"This was an opening discussion, kind of general in nature. It was on global areas. We talked through and I asked him to give me specifics, and I'll come back to him with some too," he said.
According to one aide to Daschle, the Democratic leader tried to impress on Lott the unity of the Democratic caucus in wanting equal staff, equal votes in committee and input on setting the Senate's legislative agenda. Lott was reportedly positive about wanting to work something out.
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Sen. John McCain
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There is little talk of co-chairing the committees, however.
At least one committee chairman -- Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee -- has agreed to divide his committee 50-50, but McCain would remain as sole chairman. Democrats already are looking ahead to the midterm elections in 2002 and want to be able to run against a possible Republican president and Congress.
By a fluke of timing, Democrats will hold the majority in the Senate for 17 days -- between January 3, when the new Senate convenes with Lieberman in his current seat and Gore retains his vice presidential duty as Senate tie-breaker, and January 20, when a new vice president takes office.
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