King to announce his decision on Senate allegiance Wednesday

Independent Sen.-elect Angus King (Maine) said he will tell reporters on Wednesday whether he will caucus with Democrats or Republicans in the 113th Congress.

“I’ll be discussing that with the press tomorrow,” he said Tuesday.

The Independent, who won retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-Maine) seat last week, is expected to vote with Democrats, but he left the option to caucus with Republicans open during his campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called King on election night to congratulate him on his victory. Reid seemed confident after the phone call that King would sit with the Democrats, giving them control of 55 seats in the next Congress.

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Senate Democrats’ chief political strategist, predicted earlier this year that King would join the Senate Democratic Conference.

King held what he termed a “wonderful meeting” with Snowe on Monday to discuss his transition, he told Maine TV station WGME. He also said he plans to work with both parties, regardless of which he chooses.

“It is likely that I will have to make a decision to join one of the caucuses in order to have committee assignments and to be an effective senator, but that is not the end of the discussion in terms of working with people from both sides,” he said.

King also met with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday to discuss plans to work together on Maine-centric issues moving forward, and he met with Reid on Monday.

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