The death Monday of Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) isn't setting off that many dominoes after all.

Rather than undertaking a major shuffling of committee leadership, Senate Democrats instead decided to make history and today will tap Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski to be the new Appropriations chairwoman. After a formal meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus this afternoon, Mikulski will become the first woman to run an appropriations panel in either chamber of Congress.

"It's an honor and a privilege to be expected to follow the great leadership of Senator Inouye, one of my most treasured mentors, and become the Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee," Mikulski said in a statement last night. "It is especially gratifying to be the first woman to lead this powerful Committee. I am grateful for this opportunity to fight for the day to day needs of the American people and the long range needs of the nation."

At the time of Inouye's death, Mikulski was the fourth-ranking Democrat on Appropriations. But the second most senior Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont -- who just replaced Inouye as Senate president pro tempore -- decided to retain the gavel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. And the next in line, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), already chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

"Chairing the Judiciary Committee & maintaining my seniority on the Appropr. Committee will allow me to protect both the Constitution and #VT," Leahy said in a Twitter message yesterday.

Had Leahy decided to switch to Appropriations, his slot on the Judiciary Committee was expected to be filled by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Instead, she'll remain chairwoman of the Select Committee on Intelligence -- a slot Mikulski might have been in line for had Feinstein moved over.

Mikulski, 76, a 26-year veteran of the Senate, will be a far feistier Appropriations leader than either of her immediate predecessors -- Inouye and the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died in office two and a half years ago at the age of 92. It was not immediately clear last night who would take over Mikulski's gavel at the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.

Succession process begins

In another development related to Inouye's death, the Hawaii Democratic Party announced yesterday that it will meet on Dec. 28 to begin the process of choosing someone to fill the next two years of the late senator's term. Under Hawaii law, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) will select the replacement from a list of three recommended candidates provided by the state party.

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) is the early front-runner to get the nod. Just before he died, Inouye sent Abercrombie a letter indicating his support for the congresswoman to replace him.

But a Hanabusa appointment would necessitate a special election to replace her, in which it might prove problematic for Democrats to hold the seat. That very scenario played out in the spring of 2010, when Abercrombie resigned from Congress to focus full-time on his campaign for governor.

In special House elections in Hawaii, there are no party primaries, and candidates appear together on one ballot regardless of their affiliation. There were two major Democrats in the special election to replace Abercrombie, including Hanabusa, but Republican Charles Djou, who was then a Honolulu city councilman, prevailed with 40 percent of the vote. Half a year later, in the regular election, Hanabusa, having won a Democratic primary, beat Djou by 6 points. She beat him again in a rematch last month.

If Hanabusa is appointed to the Senate, Hawaii will go from having a congressional delegation with the most senior senator -- Inouye, who was elected in 1962 -- and a veteran senator, Daniel Akaka (D), who has served since 1990 -- to a delegation in which all four members are freshmen. Akaka is retiring at the end of the year, and Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) was elected in November to replace him. Tulsi Gabbard (D), a former Honolulu city councilwoman, was elected to replace Hirono in the House.

Inouye's body will lie in state in the Capitol today. His funeral will be held tomorrow at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Burial will take place over the weekend at a veterans cemetery in Hawaii.