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Salazar not in the Cabinet yet

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 16, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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He's not in the Cabinet yet

Ken Salazar's title still is Colorado's "senior senator." That can't change until sometime after noon Tuesday, when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Here are the next steps:

* Sometime soon, Salazar is expected to write a conditional letter of resignation to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and copied to Gov. Bill Ritter. The letter would state Salazar's intention to resign his U.S. Senate seat in the event that he is confirmed as Interior secretary.

* There's no set schedule for when the U.S. Senate will vote on Salazar's confirmation. Historically, many of a president's nominees are confirmed within two days of the inauguration - if not on Inauguration Day itself. The Senate could consider a speedy voice vote on a bundle of non-controversial picks.

* Once Salazar is confirmed, the advance letter would trigger his resignation, allowing Ritter to officially appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of the Senate term, which runs through the end of 2010. Ritter has said his choice is Denver Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet, but he does not become a senator until Ritter officially has an opening to fill and names Bennet.

M.E. Sprengelmeyer