By Catharine Richert, CQ Staff

Sen. Tom Coburn may have finally found his dream job.

The Oklahoman will replace Norm Coleman of Minnesota as ranking Republican on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations — the perfect spot for a lawmaker who claims to read every line of every bill and has a roster of investigators on his staff.

“I plan on going after things hard,” Coburn said.

The switch will take place regardless of Coleman’s electoral fate. Minnesota’s Canvassing Board determined earlier this month that Al Franken had defeated Coleman by 225 votes. But Coleman filed suit contesting the election results, and the case is now in the Minnesota courts.

Meanwhile, Coleman has secured a job as a consultant with the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Until Wednesday night, the decision on Coburn had not been made public. A Republican committee assignment roster obtained by Congressional Quarterly earlier in the day and voted on by GOP senators during their weekly policy lunch had Coburn listed as the ranking member on the Indian Affairs Committee.

But an official copy sent out by Senate leadership later that evening listed John Barrasso , R-Wyo., in the top spot on Indian Affairs. Coburn remains a member of the panel.

While the swap may look as if it happened at the last minute, Coburn said it was weeks in the making. Though Oklahoma is home to numerous Native American communities, Coburn said he chose to give up the ranking spot to fully dedicate himself to the investigations panel.

“I didn’t see how I could do good service on [Indian Affairs] and do investigations,” he said.

Sen. Carl Levin , D-Mich., heads the investigations subcommittee, which is part of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Even though Levin’s panel is only a subcommittee, it’s considered very powerful in the Senate, having jurisdiction to investigate almost any aspect of the federal government.

Coburn, called “Dr. No” by his critics and supporters alike, has made a reputation for himself by going after government waste and blocking measures that he thinks squander taxpayer money.