Today’s announcement by Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) that he is appointing his former chief of staff George LeMieux to the United States is a continuation of an unusual trend since the 2008 special election: That being a high-ranking staffer to a politician could be a good way to eventually be appointed as interim Senator.
LeMieux is the third top political aide to be tapped for a Senate vacancy so far this cycle. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE) is a former Senate chief of staff to Joe Biden, and was appointed to serve as a caretaker in the Senate. And Bonnie Newman, a former chief of staff to Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), was selected to serve in his Senate seat before Gregg pulled out from his nomination to be Secretary of Commerce. And now LeMieux makes three — or two and half, perhaps, depending on how you count Judd Gregg’s cold feet.
With the pending resignation of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and the possibility of a Senate appointment in Massachusetts, this would bring us up to seven appointed Senators: Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. George LeMieux (R-FL), plus two more from Texas and Massachusetts.
This is definitely a recent high for non-elected Senators, and the kind of thing not seen since the 83rd Congress (1953-1954), in which nine Senators died in office, and all were replaced by appointments. In addition, that Congress also had the appointment of Sen. Thomas Kuchel (R-CA), replacing Richard Nixon upon his election to the Vice Presidency — for a total of ten appointed Senators, out of a chamber of 96 members.
