Kennedy Opts for Labor, Not Judiciary, Panel

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) announced Saturday that he will become chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee when the new Congress begins next year.

That clears the way for Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), an undeclared 1988 presidential hopeful, to take over as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is expected to be the arena for a number of contentious public showdowns between Senate Democrats and the Reagan Administration over future court appointments.

Kennedy told a news conference in Boston that he chose the Labor panel over the high-profile Judiciary Committee to focus on such social issues as education, health care, joblessness and the poor.

“The return of the Senate to Democratic control,” Kennedy said, “offers an unusual opportunity to reverse the retreat of the past six years in critical areas within the committee’s jurisdiction that make a difference in people’s lives.”

With the defeat of several Senate Republicans who came into office in the 1980 Reagan landslide, the Democrats will now have a 55-45 edge in the Senate next year, leading to a wholesale reshuffling of all the committee chairmanships.

Kennedy was chairman of the Judiciary Committee before the Republicans assumed control of the Senate in 1980, and he was a prominent target of attack in Reagan’s futile campaign to retain GOP dominance of the Senate.

Reagan Wanted Thurmond

“Without . . . the Republican majority in the Senate,” Reagan said over and over again in his speeches, “we’ll find liberals like a certain fellow from Massachusetts deciding who our judges are. I bet you’ll agree I’d rather have a Judiciary Committee headed by Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) than one run by Teddy Kennedy any day.”

But Reagan may not find Biden any more to his liking than Kennedy. Biden, an eloquent speaker, has been a harsh critic of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and was a leader in the losing fight to prevent William H. Rehnquist from becoming chief justice of the United States. He also fell short in the confirmation battle over the appointment of Daniel A. Manion to the federal bench.

With the Supreme Court delicately balanced between conservatives and liberals, any opening on the court during the final two years of Reagan’s term is expected to lead to a fierce confirmation struggle. Now that Democrats are in control, many congressional analysts are convinced that Reagan faces a nearly impossible task in winning Senate approval for a court appointee.

A Prominent Position

Whatever the outcome of such battles, chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee should give Biden a prominent position from which to increase public awareness of his presidential ambitions.

Biden was not available for comment, but a spokesman confirmed that he plans to take over as Judiciary Committee head next year.

Kennedy, who has ruled out a run for the White House in 1988, said he will remain on the Judiciary panel but will devote most of his time to social issues and arms control.