Coburn Tapped to Help Lead Steering Committee

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  By John Stanton
• Roll Call Staff
• 12:46 p.m

Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) announced Thursday that Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.) would help lead the Republican Steering Committee in the next Congress as the group’s vice chairman.
The vice chairmanship is a new post. Coburn’s installment was approved by the panel’s eight-member executive committee. Those Senators’ names have been kept private.
“I’m hopeful the Steering Committee will help provide the kind of leadership the Senate, and our country, needs at this critical time. I’m pleased to work with Sen. DeMint who has brought innovative and specific solutions to the table. We need every member to do the same,” Coburn said in a statement released by DeMint’s office.
Some have suggested that Coburn, in assuming the new role, would help bridge the gap between DeMint and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). DeMint and McConnell have clashed at times, while Coburn enjoys an increasingly close working relationship with the Minority Leader.
Over the past few years, DeMint has used the Steering Committee as a platform for his conservative agenda.
DeMint was also selected by the executive committee to serve in his third term as the panel’s chairman.
In the statement released by his office, DeMint said he was “honored to continue to lead the historic Steering Committee and it’s a privilege to serve with Dr. Coburn.”