Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) proposes an overhaul of federal oversight.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) sharply criticized Tony Hayward for reportedly participating in a yacht race off the southern coast of England.

Anadarko Petroleum, a minority partner in the Deepwater Horizon well that BP had leased, slammed the company for its management.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may be an integral part of Elena Kagan's confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) signaled this weekend.

Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that his committee would put an emphasis on exploring Kagan's views on issues that could impact BP and the company's response to the oil gushing from its blown-out undersea well.

The chairman, who will guide the confirmation hearing, pointed to controversial cases slashing a damages award in the 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill incident, an environmental disaster that's now been dwarfed by the Gulf spill.

Over on our main page, my colleague Russell Berman looks at Democratic efforts to make sure voters remember Rep. Joe Barton's (R-Texas) apology to BP in November.

A White House spokesman said Friday that Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-Texas) claim that BP is the victim of a government “shakedown” is a reflection of broader Republican thinking.

Barton on Thursday apologized to BP, alleging the White House wrongly forced the company to create a $20 billion fund for oil spill damages claims that will be administered independently.

“I do have to say that what we saw here was an example of what some folks in the Republican Party truly believe, which, in this case, was BP was the wronged party,” said Bill Burton, White House deputy press secretary, on Friday.

Rep. Jo Bonner is calling on Rep. Joe Barton to step aside as ranking member of the House Energy committee.

Democrats are hoping to broadcast Rep. Joe Barton's (R-Texas) BP gaffe far and wide, but they need some cash to do it.

The Democratic National Committee sent out a fundraising pitch on Friday asking supporters to contribute to the cause.

"We're whipping together an ad as fast as possible to make sure voters know exactly whose side Barton and the GOP are on and to demand they stop apologizing to big oil, but we need your help to get it on the air," DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse wrote.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was even quicker to use Barton's apology in a fundraising pitch, blasting out an e-mail on Thursday just hours after the Texas Republican's comments.

Barton on Thursday apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the White House's pressure on the company to create a $20 billion, independently managed fund for damage claims from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Barton called it a "shakedown" by the Obama administration, but hours later retracted the comment and the apology under heavy pressure from House GOP leaders.

Cross-posted to the Blog Briefing Room.

BP Board Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said Hayward will no longer oversee the company's day-to-day response to the spill.