It’s been reported that the new, larger Republican Senate majority is going to exercise its power and downsize the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s a brilliant plan for two different reasons.

The first reason is that fewer Democrat senators will have the opportunity to showboat and eat up precious time with the sort of antics they displayed in the confirmation hearings for Justice Kavanaugh. Confirmation of more federal judges at the district court and appeals court levels is the most important priority for Senate Republicans, and this proposal would streamline and therefore speed that process.

But the second reason is delicious, because thanks to longstanding Senate tradition, the member who would lose a committee seat first would be the senator with the lowest seniority. And that would be Senator Kamala Harris of California, who has held office only since 2016. Not only is she transparently running for the 2020 presidential nod, she is a shameless demagogue.

Dom Calicchio of Fox News reports on the dilemma this creates for the Democrat’s leadership:

 Reducing the size of the 21-member Senate Judiciary Committee is reportedly among the actions being considered by Senate Republicans as they prepare for the next Congress.

If that happens, Sen. Kamala Harris of California -- a high-profile Democrat who is considered a possible candidate for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination -- could be left off the panel, according to a report

This move seems to worry the Washington Deep State Post:

Democrats’ Senate losses jeopardize national spotlight for possible 2020 hopeful https://t.co/zh5rTk6xoB

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 25, 2018

Of course, the Senate Dems could muscle aside a more senior member of their caucus in order to keep Harris on the downsized committee, but with the committee continuously in the spotlight for the next two years of judicial confirmation drama, that would require a modest ego (something in short supply in the Senate) or a trade of something valuable to the senator forced out. Which probably means another highly valued committee seat, that creates even more strife with the member that would have to be ousted to make room for the consolation prize.

Or, the Senate Democrats could try to dissuade Republicans from the downsizing plan. And that would mean they’d have to come up with something valuable to offer the Republicans. 

Naturally, Dems are getting hysterical and playing the race card:

“Not only would it be unconscionable to remove the only African-American woman from the committee, but Sen. Harris also is the most skilled questioner on the entire panel,” Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice, a group tries to get liberal judges appointed, told the Post. “Whatever options they need to consider, removing Harris should not be one of them. The backlash would be intense.”

If I were Indian-American, I would be quite offended by Senator Harris being considered only an African-American, since her heritage is half Desi. But such is the power of African-American heritage among Democrats that they assume it overwhelms every other genetic component of a person's heritage. The same power is granted to Native American heritage, as we see with Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is accorded victim group status on a maximum of 1/64 Native American blood. It's almost as if Democrats are obsessed....

I don’t know if Mitch McConnell came up with the proposal to downsize the Senate Judiciary Committee, but this is a brilliant move. Mitch has not been the most popular guy among conservatives, but he’s rapidly proving himself as one of the craftiest Republicans in DC, and seems fully on board with the Trump agenda.