U.N. Report

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Senate whip-snapper

At the United Nations, they don't have a lot of nice things to say about Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee, the first-term senator who called for Kofi Annan's resignation because of the U.N. official's role in the oil-for-food program in Iraq.

But they might have to start sweet talking soon enough.

Mr. Coleman is tapped by insiders as likely to take over the international economic policy, export and trade promotion subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a perch that would give him direct oversight of U.N. affairs for the Senate.

"Aw, wouldn't that be fun," said an aide in the senator's office when asked about the possibility. He indicated that the thought had never crossed the senator's mind or that of anyone else in the office.

But people who watch the complex calculus of subcommittee assignments say Mr. Coleman is something of an odds-on favorite for the post.

Subcommittee assignments are awarded through a mix of seniority and interest. If, as appears likely, the more senior senators on the Foreign Relations Committee snatch up the Western Hemisphere, European and the newly popular Near Eastern and South Asia portfolios, Mr. Coleman will have a clear shot at the international policy subcommittee, most recently chaired by Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

"Oh, you know he wants it," one insider giggled. "Of course, he does."

That feeling is echoed, with varying degrees of restraint, by others on Capitol Hill.

"If Lincoln Chafee gets bumped from [Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs], he'll likely take [Western Hemisphere]," said one source, referring to Mr. Coleman's current subcommittee assignment, which focuses on Latin America.