I'd say you're overthinking it. The two independent senators caucus with the Dems. For staffing committees, they count as Dems. They sit in the Dem seats on the committees, right?
Just watch. You'll see.
The question exists inherently of a balanced power sharing agreement in respect of the committees.
Committees.
It begins with the question. It ends with the answer. It doesn't drop in from the sky as a
fait accompli.
The inherent question might be dismissed by a common agreement by all senators or it might be addressed in specific terms, as occurred in 2001 when the Senate divided exactly as 50-50 and as reported in the link I quote herein.
The inherent question pertains to the total number of members of each committee. Central to the question is the ratio of D : R members of each committee. The inherent question is whether chairpersons of committees need to include members of each party. That is, some committees have an R chairperson while other committees have a D chairperson. And if so, which committees specifically and in particular.
Or, alternatively and because the vp and president of the Senate shall be the D Kamala Harris, the president of the Senate may vote with the D party rules package and against the R party rules package that would give all power to the D party concerning committee chairpersons. If two differing rules packages might be offered, one by each party, which we don't know yet might occur, or not occur.
Yet because it is math, the number of members of each committee will be equal based on the equal number of members of each party in the body itself. Unless of course D party rules adopted allow for more D members of this committee while allowing for more R members of that committee....and so on. This, while possible, is unlikely to occur however.
Sens. Daschle, left, and Lott announce the power-sharing agreement
January 5, 2001
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The full Senate agreed Friday to a blueprint for floor and committee procedures intended to even the chamber's partisan playing field, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. The chamber's committees will now be split evenly among Democrats and Republicans -- both parties occupy 50 seats in Congress' upper chamber -- with Republicans retaining the chairmanships, but staffing and resources evenly divided.
A number of concessions needed to be made by both parties during the lengthy negotiations, members said Friday, and every possible legislative and procedural eventuality had to be considered. Among those: In the case of a tie vote in a committee, the Senate majority leader can bring the measure to the Senate floor for a full vote. This includes tie votes on any Bush Administration official up for confirmation. In the case of a tie vote on a subcommittee, the issue will be sent to the full committee. The agreement was greeted on the floor of the Senate with a level of praise and comity that belied the long, tough negotiations that brought it about.
In 2001 Bush's Dick Cheney was elected vp and
ex officio president of the Senate so he would have cast the tiebreaking vote had there been a dispute between a package of D rules and a package of R rules, which there wasn't, as a mutually agreed set of Senate rules was adopted quickly on a voice vote.
So ignorance of or a summary dismissal of what the first question is and that there is a first and fundamental question that gets answered does not dismiss the fact the question exists as does its answer to include the processes that occur in between 'em.
