Almanac: At the Capitol

Labor and Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum's confirmation just sailed through a Senate committee despite warnings that he could be in trouble. In her weekly briefing with reporters on Friday, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark signaled that there might be "problems" with Sviggum and "people question him being in that position." There were no real tough questions today in committee, though. Clark said Sviggum, the former Republican house speaker, "background is not in this area and his track record on labor is very low."

I don't know if Clark is out of the loop or lawmakers got gun shy, but it was sweetness and light for Sviggum today. Chair James Metzen signaled there wouldn't be problems at the outset saying he was "personally satisfied" with Sviggum before anyone even asked him any questions. There are rumblings in the Press Corps and the Democratic Senate caucus that Majority Leader Pogemiller is not keeping Clark in the loop so she really doesn't know where issues stand politically when she does her weekly briefings with us.