Dem
50
Ties
1
GOP
49
Maybe the Democrats will control the Senate in January, maybe they won't, but in both cases, two key committees will get new top Democrats due to retirements.. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is currently ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee. She is retiring and is likely to be replaced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE). The current top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), is also retiring. His probable replacement is Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Formally, each party selects which (new) members will be on which committee and who the top dog will be in a party caucus in December. Most of the time when the #1 position is open, the #2 moves up. Coons and Whitehouse are both popular within the caucus, so, there is no reason to think they will be passed over, especially if they are in line to become the chairmen.
Coons is widely admired by members of both parties and believes that diplomacy is an American issue, not a partisan issue. Foreign leaders who know Coons like and trust him. If he is chairman, he will have a large say in the confirmation of nominees for State Department and diplomatic positions. He is very unlikely to allow confirmation of unqualified Trump lackeys. Also on his plate as chairman will be any ongoing wars, such as in Iran or Ukraine. If the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee has little or no foreign policy experience, the nominee may well draw upon Coons' expertise in foreign affairs. He is also a potential future secretary of state in a Democratic administration.
Whitehouse is a former prosecutor and much more aggressive than Coons. Republicans have term limits on committee chairmanships, so Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will end his time as top Republican on the Judiciary Committee in January. He will most likely be replaced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), an extremely conservative and partisan Republican. One Republican who wished to remain anonymous said of Whitehouse and Lee: "If the two of them don't physically fight, I think that's a win." (V)