Senate Dems Look to Prod Byrd Out of Key Chair

Senator, rumored to be under pressure from Reid, will be replaced by Hawaii's Inoyue

(NEWSER) - Robert Byrd resigned today as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, acquiescing to Democratic leaders who reportedly wanted him out of the job, the Hill reports. Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized three times in the past year, and said he was willing to leave the committee in younger hands—namely, those of 84-year-old Hawaiian Daniel Inouye. More»

Senator, 90, flexes muscle at hearing

(NEWSER) - History's longest-serving senator has two words for people who think he's no longer up to the job of chairing the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee: "Shut up." Democrat Robert Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized twice this year but his management of a two-hour hearing on Iraq war spending yesterday apparently silenced his critics, the Hill reports. More»

Upper chamber unlikely to follow House's lead on earmarks

(NEWSER) - House members may be pushing earmark reform, but many of their Senate colleagues refuse to let go without a fight—in fact, Politico notes, it may be the one issue on which senators from both parties can agree on. Lawmakers from both sides argue that the money would be spent anyway, so there's no need to take aim at their pet projects. More»

92-year-old Dem brought to Senate floor via wheelchair

(NEWSER) - His own battles with ill health haven’t kept Democrat Robert Byrd from making it to the Senate for key milestones on the long road to the health-care reform vote scheduled for tomorrow morning. The 92-year-old—wheelchair-bound and with a live-in nurse after a recent hospital stay—has only added to his legend in the process, colleagues tell the New York Times . “When he comes onto the floor and the members cheer and his face lights up, it just makes our day,” Sen. Charles Schumer says. More»

(NEWSER) - Senator Robert Byrd wants his colleagues to honor Ted Kennedy by renaming health care legislation in his honor, Politico reports. “As a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling,” said Byrd, 92, himself in poor health. "My heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend." More»