Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander will become the first Tennessee Republican ever to serve on the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, widely considered to be its most powerful committee because of its jurisdiction over federal spending.
Newly-elected Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who named Alexander to the Appropriations Committee, said, “This appointment demonstrates the respect our caucus has for the extraordinary contribution Lamar has made during his first four
years in the Senate, and it is intended to make it possible for him to be even more effective during his next term.”
Alexander (seen here being fitted for the official Appropriations Committee baseball cap) said, “These appointments could not have been better for Tennessee. The appropriations appointment gives me the best possible opportunity to help control spending and to help Tennesseans receive our fair share of federal funding.
(We made up that baseball cap stuff because this was a pretty boring press release and we thought you might need a l’il break.)