Congressional Delegations

Lawmakers of different stripes will find themselves working side-by-side on the panel in the new Congress.

Iraq war veteran and freshman Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is wasting no time making his mark in the 113th Congress. 

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has been named to the top spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee's new Middle East subcommittee.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

President Obama is expected to formally announce his choices for secretary of Defense and director of the CIA today, launching a new round of political brinksmanship over national security.

Several Republicans – including hawkish Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) - have already made clear their opposition to former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) replacing Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, The Washington Post reports. Others, however, have called for a fair hearing for their former colleague-turned-bitter critic of the Iraq war, despite concerns that he is too soft on Iran and not committed enough to Israel's security.

In other nomination news, Obama is expected to nominate his counterterrorism adviser, William Brennan, to replace David Petraeus at the CIA, The New York Times reports.

And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton resumes her functions today, after suffering a stomach ailment, a concussion and a blood clot in her brain.

Defeated six-term Sen. Richard Lugar will now be tasked with improving relations between Congress and the Washington diplomatic corps.

Jewish Democrats are split on whether the former senator’s views on Israel might prevent them from supporting his nomination.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has consistently bucked the White House on Cuba and Iran.

Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) expected nomination to be the next secretary of State has been delayed at least until later in this week because of the elementary school shooting in Connecticut, according to a report by The New York Times.

Kerry's selection had been widely expected after Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration under political scrutiny last week, and reports over the weekend confirmed that President Obama had decided to name the former Democratic presidential nominee. But the White House is wary of making the announcement early in the week, while the nation continues to reel from the shooting spree that left 26 dead, including 20 children. 

According to the report, Kerry's nomination will come, at the earliest, toward the end of the week.

The Massachusetts Democrat emerged as the favorite to succeed Hillary Clinton when Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration.

The secretary of State will not testify before a Senate panel on the Benghazi attack.