WASHINGTON — The Republican takeover of the Senate will provide President Bush with powerful new allies to push his agenda -- a phalanx of GOP lawmakers leading the committees where the essential work of shaping legislation occurs.
But based on their track records, many of these committee chairmen will not be mere rubber stamps for the administration. The new Senate barons include a cadre of mavericks and independent thinkers who bring their own ideas and quirks to the legislative table.
Heading the Appropriations Committee is the wily and combative Ted Stevens of Alaska, who often pushes for more spending than Bush wants. The new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, is an internationalist who has been less than eager to plunge into war with Iraq. The Commerce Committee's incoming chairman was Bush's nemesis in the 2000 GOP presidential primary: John McCain of Arizona.
Once Congress convenes Jan. 7, this lineup could present Bush with an early leadership challenge: keeping his own party's power brokers in line.
"If Ted Stevens or John McCain gets his back up, then the administration is in for a real tough time," said Steve Smith, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.
Having Republicans at the helm even on their rambunctious days will be far better for Bush than having Democrats head the Senate committees. The GOP chairmen will lend muscle to key Bush initiatives in energy, the environment and defense policy. And whatever their personal priorities, the chairmen will be under enormous pressure to toe the administration line. That's because Republican control of the new Senate resulted, in part, from Bush's barnstorming in this year's campaign.
"For once, you will have a lot of people in the Senate feeling they do owe him," said Barbara Sinclair, a political science professor at UCLA.
Many of the chairmen-in-waiting, such as Stevens and McCain, are returning to posts they held for the first five months of 2001, before James M. Jeffords' defection from the GOP gave Democrats the majority. Others are new in their posts.
Taking charge of the Budget Committee is Don Nickles of Oklahoma, a fervent believer in cutting taxes and limited government. He is critical of fiscal decisions Congress has made even when the GOP controlled both chambers in recent years.
"We were spending like crazy," he said. "It's been phenomenal. It's not sustainable."
