Senate bids farewell to Byrd
The US Senate bid farewell Thursday to Robert C. Byrd, the homespun West Virginian who for half a century held sway with his thunderous oratory and fierce advocacy of his state and the Senate he loved.
While aides said that no senior Democratic senator is publicly talking about life in the Senate after Byrd, there are senior-level discussions among top aides over who would replace Byrd if he were to leave the Senate and how that would shake up current committee chairmanships.