Specter to get Judiciary subcommittee chair

MSNBC is reporting that newly minted Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) will be given the chairmanship of a Judiciary subcommittee. After stripping Specter of his seniority earlier in the week, MSNBC classified the move as “throwing [him] a bone.”

UPDATE: MSNBC is right: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has passed the gavel to Specter on the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee, according to a release from Durbin’s office.

“Over the past several days, Senator Reid, Senator Leahy, Senator Specter and I have had a number of conversations about ways to best utilize Senator Specter’s talents and experience in our Caucus,” Durbin said in a statement. “To that end, I have offered the gavel of the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee to Senator Specter who has been a leader on criminal justice issues for decades.”

jeremy.jacobs@digital-stage.thehill.com