Senate rabble-rousers are gaining power

Hardline conservatives are gaining power in the Senate atop key committees.

Why it matters: The senators known for rankling GOP leadership now have gavels that let them hold hearings, advance legislation and even issue subpoenas.

Driving the news: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will be the new chair of the Budget Committee, Senate Republicans agreed in their closed-door lunch Tuesday.

• The committee, which has a key role in reconciliation, had been chaired by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
• Johnson also chairs the Homeland Security subcommittee on investigations, allowing him to launch probes into everything from former President Biden's health to Meta's alleged cooperation with China.

What to watch: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is next in line to take the gavel on the powerful Judiciary Committee next Congress, following Graham's death and Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) primary loss.

• Lee would have to forfeit his current Energy Committee chair post.
• He indicated to the Washington Examiner he would be willing to do so.

Zoom out: Fiscal hawk Rand Paul (R-Ky.) chairs the Homeland Security Committee, where he has been skeptical of massive agency budgets.

• He recently voted "no" on Markwayne Mullin's nomination to be DHS secretary.
• Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) chairs the Aging Committee, and he also leads the GOP steering committee, an unofficial, conservative group.
• Scott has leveraged the group's weekly lunch to bring in top government officials, including President Trump, to discuss current issues.

The bottom line: The Senate runs on seniority. That means even senators willing to buck their party or criticize leadership can climb committee ranks.