By KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Missouri U.S. Senator Kit Bond will now be the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, after Kansas Republican Pat Roberts stepped down to join the Finance Committee.
Bond has been on the Intelligence Committee since 2003. But the dynamic of the panel - and all Senate committees - are in limbo with the hospitalization of South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson on Wednesday.
Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) is in line to chair the Intelligence Committee once Democrats take control of the Senate next year, but if Johnson can't serve, his state's Republican governor would likely pick a GOP replacement. That would send the entire chamber back into Republican control (it would actually be a 50-50 split, but Vice President Dick Cheney would break all ties), which could leave Bond in line to chair the committee.
Bond has taken on an increasingly public role on the panel; Republicans chose him to carry the party's message on national security and terrorism issues through the midterm elections.