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Specter’s letter had false seniority promise |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 04/10/07 08:10 PM [ET] |
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recently wrote a letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that incorrectly stated he would be the senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee by 2010.
The senator’s spokesman, Scott Hoeflich, took the blame for the error when it was brought to his attention by The Hill.
“The incorrect statement contained in the letter is a result of poor editing on my part, and I deeply regret the lack of attention to detail,” Hoeflich said yesterday in a statement.
Specter’s office has been adamant about responding to media reports that suggest he might retire before his 2010 reelection bid. The letter in the Post-Gazette, published April 1, was a response to an editorial suggesting he should retire earlier.
“By 2008, or 2010 at the latest, I will be senior Republican on Appropriations and chairman when the party again regains control of the Senate,” the letter read. “In that position, I can do much for Pennsylvania and would have a significant role in establishing national priorities on federal spending.”
In actuality, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) stands in Specter’s way.
Senate Republican Conference rules say a member can be chairman of a committee for six years and ranking member for six years.
Cochran, who ascended to the chairmanship in 2005 and became ranking member when Democrats took power this year, has nearly six years of ranking member eligibility and four years of chairman eligibility remaining. Therefore, he will maintain senior status past 2010 unless he retires or leaves the committee.
Cochran, 69, is up for reelection in 2008 and hasn’t said whether he will run again.
Specter, 77, said last month that he would run for reelection in 2010.
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