Specter loses seniority as Dem

Uh oh. Seems as though Democrats denied Arlen Specter the seniority status he seemed sure he would keep when he switched parties.

At a press conference following his decision to become a Democrat last week, Specter said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had assured him he would keep his senior posts on committees, becoming the second ranking Democrat on Judiciary.

Now comes this:

But Democrats placed Specter in one of the two most junior slots on each of the five committees for the remainder of this Congress, which goes through December 2010. Democrats have suggested that they will consider revisiting Specter’s seniority claim at the committee level only after the midterm elections next year.

“This is all going to be negotiated next Congress,” Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), said tonight.

Specter’s office declined to comment.