60-seat majority for Senate Democrats? Over Gregg’s dead body

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) Photo: Wikimedia

[Updated] New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg “would never allow his seat to go to a Democrat,” says a Republican close to President Obama’s presumptive pick for Commerce Secretary. “The only way he would allow it is if he died.” Buzz today is that if Gregg took the gig, his replacement would share parties with New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat. (If Al Franken is deemed the winner here in Minnesota, the Dems would then secure a veto filibuster-proof majority.) But The Hill now reports that Republicans are saying Gregg will only take the job if he’s guaranteed that the seat will stay in GOP hands. A Commerce Secretary Gregg, then, seems pretty unlikely. Lynch would face political backlash for appointing a Republican, and Gregg probably won’t unconditionally take the cabinet post. The Hill’s un-named Republican says Gregg would “consider it to be a breach of trust to people who elected [him].”

Update: CBS confirms that Gregg is Obama’s top choice for commerce secretary. On the network’s Face the Nation program Sunday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that Gregg “assured” him that “whoever is appointed to replace him would caucus with Senate Republicans.” He added, “I think it would have no impact on the balance of power in the Senate.”