Senator-elect John Thune officially ranks 93rd in the Senate. With that in mind, see the article Sibby points to in The Hill, a Capitol Hill publication, headlined "Frist gains new powers." Excerpt:
The Republican Conference changed its rules yesterday to give Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) new powers to ensure party discipline.
A coalition of loyalist and new senators managed unexpectedly to push through the more sweeping version of the proposed changes, defeating a watered-down proposal.The stronger one, which passed on a 27-26 secret-ballot vote, allows Frist to fill half of all vacancies on “A” committees as he chooses.
This important development is good news for South Dakota and for Thune, who now has more ability to cash in on the political capital he earned defeating the other side's leader. Then there's this passage:
Frist could use his powers to create a star out of the new freshman class. The highest-profile member of the class is probably Sen.-elect John Thune (R-S.D.), who knocked off Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Thune has already been a staple on television talk shows since the election.
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