Senator Arlen Specter, the former Republican from Pennsylvania who switched parties last week to become a Democrat, gained the chairmanship of a Senate subcommittee Thursday thanks to a fellow Democrat's willingness to step aside. Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat from Illinois) agreed to forgo his chairmanship of the Judiciary Crime and Drugs subcommittee – the busiest of the Judiciary subcommittees – in exchange for becoming chairman of a panel on human rights. The move, Durbin said, would “best utilize Senator Specter's talents and experience.” The decision to hand Specter the subcommittee position comes two days after his new colleagues voted to strip him of the seniority he had as a Republican with over 20 years in the Senate. The loss of seniority means a loss of clout as a lawmaker and it a blow to the long-serving Specter.
