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Reid scores committee win
Political Animal — ... on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but he scored a very nice win this morning. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have reached a tentative agreement that would give Democrats a three-seat advantage on most committees during the 111th Congress. That is a big change from the 110th Congress, when the party held only a 51-49 operating majority in the full Senate and a one-seat edge on most committees. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow , head of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, said Democrats negotiated a larger, four-seat ...

Franken-Coleman Update: The Carve-Out and the Gang of (Sixty-) Four
Firedoglake — Well, the schedule for hearing the Coleman contest has been issued -- and it's a doozy: The discovery's allowed to go on until February 16, and the trial itself won't start until February 23!   No wonder Al Franken's asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to intervene so he can get his election certificate signed; they're set to rule on his motion on February 5.  He's asking the Soops to set up a "carve out", or exception to the "no cert so long as there's a contest" rule, for Federal legislative branch seats similar to a carve out that already exists for state legislative branch seats.  In the ...