Looks like Lieberman might keep his homeland security chairmanship, reports the Politico:

After weeks of tough talk and threats, Senate Democrats are poised to let Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee despite his support for John McCain — and criticism of Barack Obama — in the presidential race....

Lieberman may yet pay a price this time around. When Democrats gather Tuesday morning in the Old Senate Chamber, they could decide to punish him by stripping him of subcommittee seats he holds on the Armed Services and Environment and Public Works, or EPW, committees. But Democratic insiders said Monday there was growing consensus for letting Lieberman keep the gavel at Homeland Security.

“My sense is that he will remain in the caucus, and probably — I'm guessing — remain chairman of the Homeland Security committee,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), a junior member close to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “Our caucus is not a lockstep caucus. He obviously supported McCain every way he could, and he is out of sync with the Democrats on Iraq, but if you look at pretty much every other issue, he's a Democrat.”

A top aide to a Senate Democrat close to the issue said Monday that it was “becoming a sure bet” that Lieberman would hold on to the Homeland Security chairmanship, but he confirmed that members were “looking at EPW and Armed Services.”

The reality is that Lieberman always had the stronger hand to play: He could leave the Dem caucus and join the GOP. The left frets over the possibility that Lieberman could use his subpoena power against the Obama administration, but nothing in Lieberman's past suggested that he would do that arbitrarily.  Yes, he backed McCain, but Lieberman has been with the Dems more than he's been against them, with the obvious exception of the Iraq war. But even there, it's not clear how the Obama administartion is going to go, meaning Lieberman might very well end up agreeing with the path Obama chooses.