Byrd Resigning as Chairman of Appropriations Committee

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Byline: Sean Lengell, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in history, stepped down as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday after weeks of speculation that his party's leadership was pressuring the 90-year-old West Virginia Democrat to resign the post.

Mr. Byrd said it was time for new leadership in the Senate's largest committee, which controls more than $1 trillion in federal agencies' budgets.

I have learned that nothing is quite so permanent as change. It is simply a part of living and should not be feared, he said. A new day has dawned in Washington, and that is a good thing. For my part, I believe that it is time for a new day at the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee. …