Joe Lieberman to keep his chairmanship

NBC First Read:

Democrats in Congress have allowed Joe Lieberman to hold onto his powerful chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee in a secret ballot vote.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, asked the Connecticut senator to step down as chairman of the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection subcommittee of the Environmental & Public Works Committee, which Lieberman said he did.

Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, retains his AirLand subcommitte chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee.

Lieberman said he regretted some of his comments regarding President-elect Obama during the campaign trail, or that he would have liked to have made them more clearly.