Patty Murray’s Senate Profile Rises as Byrd Recovers

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Murray’s Senate Profile Rises as Byrd Recovers
By Alan K. Ota and Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff



With Robert C. Byrd ailing, Senate Democrats are eyeing Patty Murray as a potential backup if Byrd is unable to serve as manager for the next war supplemental, top Democratic aides say.

Although no decisions have been made, some Senate Democrats have been mulling whether the ailing Appropriations Committee chairman is up to the job of managing the high-profile war spending bill on the floor and leading the negotiations.

Byrd, 90, D-W.Va., is recovering from a back injury suffered in a February fall.

Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill., said he and Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., have had numerous discussions about the possibility that Byrd’s health might require him to cut back on his workload. “We’ve had a number of conversations about Sen. Byrd,” Durbin said Wednesday. “It has come up several times this week.”

Reid had publicly expressed confidence in Byrd. But the majority leader, who tends to choose his words carefully when the cameras are rolling, fueled speculation about Byrd’s condition with the way he answered a question about the supplemental a day later.

“We have a number of meetings scheduled,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I had a good conversation today with Chairman Obey {and} Sen. Byrd’s chief of staff today.”

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