Politics is never pretty, but it got particularly ugly today after the U.S. Senate's next majority leader offered candidate Rep. Bill Cassidy a committee position before he's even finished the election.  Sen. Mary Landrieu isn't even out the door yet, and the new boss is divvying up her stuff.

According to NOLA.com, Sen. Mitch McConnell is offering Cassidy his opponent's seat on the Senate Energy Committee if he wins the Dec. 6 runoff election.

The move is clearly intended to undercut one of the Landrieu campaign's major arguments -- that even now that she's losing her chairmanship with the Republican takeover of the Senate she'll still have plenty of clout as the panel's top Democrat. -- NOLA.com 

The major reason it's ugly is because such a prestigious appointment is usually not likely for a freshman senator, which Cassidy would be if elected. The other major reason McConnell can hand out such an appointment is that he knows he'll get Cassidy's support on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline vote. That move may force Democratic majority to try to block the pipeline before the Senate changes in January, according to NBC News.

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