Murray, Cantwell face changes in next Congress

SEATTLE — Now that Republicans will control the U.S. Senate, Washington’s two Democratic senators will see their roles change in the nation’s capital.

Sen. Patty Murray will no longer chair the powerful Senate Budget Committee. Sen. Maria Cantwell will also no longer lead the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and an aviation subcommittee.

The Seattle Times reports Murray was also deciding whether to give up her position on the budget committee in exchange for being the ranking minority member on the Committee on Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP).

The Times reports Cantwell is also figuring out her committee choices in the next Congress.

Murray is a senior member of the appropriations committee and chairs its subcommittee on transportation, housing and urban development.

She is expected to remain a senior member of the appropriations committee and still have a leadership position in the minority party. Murray has used her clout to help steer federal funds to benefit local projects, including cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site and Puget Sound and improvements to the state’s ferry system.