Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) was approved as the next chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday, replacing Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), who retired earlier this month.
Shelby had been the second most senior Republican on the powerful panel and was expected to take Cochran’s place as its chairman.
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) will take Shelby’s place as chairman of the Rules Committee.
This confirmation makes Shelby the first senator from Alabama to head the committee since it was formed in 1867.