Asked whether he plans to retaliate against Lieberman next year by stripping him of his chairmanship on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Reid said, “Let’s talk about this year” and stressed Lieberman’s importance to the Democrats in the 110th Congress.

Lieberman, a former Democrat who still caucuses with his old party and is the reason it has a majority in the Senate, is a vocal supporter of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). That position — and his criticism of Democrats on Iraq and national security issues — has earned Lieberman the ire of the left.

“I wish people would leave him alone,” Reid said.

But when pressed about what he would do next year, when Democrats are widely expected to expand their Senate majority and not need Lieberman to keep their majority, Reid refused to say whether he would take the gavel away.

“Next year will be next year when we get there,” Reid said.

When he was asked whether that meant that he is open to stripping Lieberman of his leadership position, Reid said: “I’m not open to anything,” but added: “I’m just waiting to get through this year when I have a 51-vote majority.”

Reid has sent out mixed messages regarding Lieberman largely because the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee’s role in the presidential campaign for McCain has continued to evolve. Lieberman, who became an Independent after losing a Senate primary in 2006, has been a harsh critic of Obama on national security. His hawkish stances on the war and his stepped-up attacks against the Democratic candidate have sparked strong concerns from the party’s left and an online petition drive by liberal bloggers to strip him of the chairmanship next year.

Lieberman has said he would be open to speaking at the Republican Convention in September, a scenario that could further strain relations with Democrats. When asked if his position would change if Lieberman did that, Reid simply smiled without uttering a word.

Reid’s lieutenant, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said there are no talks whatsoever about removing Lieberman.

“There are no plans to remove Joe Lieberman from the chairmanship,” Durbin said Thursday. “Without Joe Lieberman's support, there would not be a Democratic majority in the Senate. Period.”

Lieberman has said that Reid has assured him that his chairmanship would be protected next year. He said he believes that what he is doing is best for the country and that he is not calculating how that would affect his political standing.

“I’m going to do what I think is right, try to make the government work, and not worry about what political effect [that] may have a year, two years or three years from now,” Lieberman told The Hill this week.