Sens. Mark Kelly, Kyrsten Sinema tapped for key committees after Dianne Feinstein's death

Both of Arizona’s U.S. senators picked up new and influential committee assignments after Democrats reassigned the work previously handled by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., will join the Senate Appropriations Committee, the panel that helps shape the overall federal budget.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., joins the Senate Intelligence Committee, a panel with wide-ranging oversight of the nation’s intelligence-gathering efforts.

“It speaks volumes for the state of Arizona. These are really important committees,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. “Appropriations doles out the money and Intelligence, I would think, is right up Kelly’s alley.”

Sinema has been a member of the Senate’s banking and commerce committees, giving her an outsized role in oversight of the financial industry and interstate commerce matters. The Appropriations Committee is the largest panel in the Senate and originates spending decisions for the federal budget in the Senate, including supplemental bills.

Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot, joins the intelligence committee after heading the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on emerging threats, an area closely linked to intelligence matters. Arizona’s Fort Huachuca garrison is an intelligence center for the U.S. Army.

In recent years, the Intelligence Committee probed the Russia’s interference with the 2016 election and its contacts with the Trump campaign to examining the national security risks linked to the Chinese social media app TikTok.

Both committees face contemporary pressures, such as the spending future for aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Feinstein, D-Calif., died last month at age 90 and after struggling with an array of health issues, including memory loss.

California Gov. Gavin Newson, a Democrat, appointed Laphonza Butler to Feinstein’s seat until after the 2024 elections.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sens. Mark Kelly, Kyrsten Sinema tapped to fill key committee vacancies