Senator Hatch of Utah to be president pro tempore

Sen. Orrin Hatch wasn’t on the ballot this week, but he won a grand prize nonetheless. As the senior Republican in the Senate, Hatch will earn a new title when the GOP takes back control of the upper chamber in January: Senate president pro tempore. It’s a position that comes with a variety of new powers and new perks, like being a few heartbeats away from being commander in chief. "It’s a constitutional post," says Senate Historian Donald Ritchie, "and it’s in the line of presidential succession, which is not to be sneezed at." Senate majority leader, by the way, isn’t mentioned in the Constitution, but Hatch’s soon-to-be gig is. The president pro tempore — meaning "for the time being" in Latin — signs legislation passed by the Senate, appoints people to various commissions and boards and is responsible to ensure there’s a presiding officer on the dais in the chamber whenever the Senate is in session...more