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. ...