Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has appointed three Democrats to the new congressional “super-committee” tasked with proposing at least $1.5 trillion in cuts under the deal raising the federal debt ceiling. Reid says he has selected Sen. Patty Murray of Washington to co-chair, and two other Democratic senators, Max Baucus of Montana and John Kerry of Massachusetts, to become members. Baucus received notoriety in 2009 as one of the leading Democratic opponents of a public option under healthcare reform. Baucus also voted for then-President George W. Bush’s controversial tax cut package favoring the wealthy in 2001. The three other congressional leaders—House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi—have yet to announce their picks.