With Hillary Clinton poised join President-elect Obama's cabinet, the Daily News reports that Clinton "passed on becoming boss of the superpowerful Senate Appropriations Committee" for the Secretary of State gig. Which might sting to NYers, because "as chairwoman of the panel that controls the nation's purse strings, Clinton could have pumped billions in federal dollars into the Empire State." The News claims Clinton really wanted to join the health care task force, but Senator Kennedy......

Photograph of Governor Paterson and wife Michelle Paige Paterson visiting volunteers at Equinox Community Dinner who were preparing Thanksgiving dinners at the Empire State Plaza in Albany by Mike Groll With Senator Hillary Clinton expected to be announced as Secretary of State-designate next week, rumors have been coming fast and furious about who Governor David Paterson might appoint to replace her. Yesterday, Paterson addressed the rumors and told reporters, "I think that the misunderstanding......

Senator Joe Lieberman told Politico he doesn't feel punished after the Democratic caucus voted to let him keep his Senate chair on the Homeland Security Committee but forced him out of the Environment and Public Works one. He said, "I don't view it as a sanction," and suggesting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked him to step down from EPW to let incoming Senators have a change (Reid's spokesperson "disagreed" with that). He also spoke......

Well, it only took two weeks for Alaska's election officials to figure out that Anchorage mayor Mark Begich (D) managed beat the incumbent, convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R), who has been serving since 1968. Begich said, “I can’t wait to get to work fighting for Alaskan families," and his win also means an end to guessing whether Governor Sarah Palin might appoint herself to Stevens' seat. There is some talk of a recount (Begich's margin......

Senator Joe Lieberman, whose support of Republican candidate John McCain raised the ire of Senate Democrats, was allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He was, however, ousted from the less showy Environment and Public Works Committee, a move the NY Times characterized as a "a slap on the wrist compared with the prospect of losing the homeland security leadership post." While many Democrats wanted to strip Lieberman of......

All of the talk about the possibility of Hillary Clinton becoming Secretary of State in the forthcoming Obama administration naturally is triggering speculation about who Governor Paterson might replace her with if she were to step down as senator. Sources close to the governor tell the Times that he and his advisers were made aware that Clinton was being considered for the post days before the story broke. While big names like the Kennedys (RFK......

President-elect Barack Obama announced that he will resign from his Senate seat on Sunday, "In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who've taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children's future. It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and......

If you think John McCain's defeat Tuesday means you no longer have to hear the word "maverick" every five minutes, think again! The Associated Press reports that "four maverick New York City lawmakers" are refusing to back a member of their own party, Malcolm A. Smith, for majority leader, after over four decades of Republican control of the State Senate. Three of the four holdouts are Latino legislators who feel Latinos have been underrepresented in......

For the first time since 1965, Democrats have taken control of the New York State Senate, sweeping into the majority last night on President-elect Barack Obama's coattails. All the incumbent Democrats held on to their seats, and two longtime GOP incumbents lost: Queens Republican Serphin Maltese lost to Democratic City Councilman Joseph Addabbo and Suffolk County's Caesar Trunzo lost to Democratic challenger Brian Foley. Maltese blamed his defeat on "the Obama craze" and said he......

Tonight, the Senate passed the $700 billion bailout package, with 75 votes for and 24 votes against (the bill needed 60 votes to pass; Ted Kennedy, who has been battling cancer, was absent). The NY Times reports the passage left "backers optimistic that the easy approval, coupled with an array of popular additions, would lead to House acceptance by Friday and end the legislative uncertainty that has rocked the markets." President Bush was pleased......

The Senate will vote on the $700 billion bailout plan (or the Economic Rescue Plan, as the White House calls it) tomorrow. The NY Times, which described it as a "surprise move," reports that Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said, "It has been determined, in our judgment, this is the best thing to move forward. This is good for the country.” The package will reportedly have "new provisions-including raising the FDIC insurance cap to......

After four decades controlling the New York State Senate, political analysts expect Republicans to lose their majority to Democrats this November. And that possibility has real estate executives “really scared,” as one Manhattan developer told the Times, because most Senate Democrats support changes to the rent laws, which were diluted by Republicans in 1997 to favor landlords. Now the real estate industry is scrambling to get the Democrats in their pockets by throwing lots of......

Photograph of Hillary Clinton greeting people outside Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. by Susan Walsh/AP Senator Hillary Clinton returned to her day job yesterday and was welcomed like royalty. Politico found that she was greeted by "a crowd of adoring interns, a phalanx of Senate staff, hugs from Democratic colleagues and an ovation from a closed luncheon of Democratic senators." While she only said she would fully support former rival and Democratic candidate Senator......

When an "icon," "liberal lion" and member of one of the country's most famous political dynasties falls ill, it naturally becomes front page news, especially when it's someone whose life has had as many ups and downs as Senator Edward Kennedy's has. The NY Daily News says the 76-year-old is is in the "final fight of his life against a malignant brain tumor that never loses." The NY Post goes glass-half empty with a......

Doctors for Senator Edward Kennedy tell the AP the 76-year-old has a malignant brain tumor. He had suffered a seizure on Saturday, and the tumor was discovered when the doctors performed tests and is believed to be the cause of the seizure. His family rushed to his side at the Massachusetts General over the weekend, including niece Caroline Kennedy. The Senator and Caroline Kennedy notably threw their support behind Barack Obama's presidential nomination bid in......