From this morning's Earlybird:

• "Financial services lobbyists are quietly pushing for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to give up his chairmanship of the Banking Committee and take up the gavel of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where he is next in line following the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Such a move, they say, would remove a thorn from the banking industry, since Dodd has upped his anti-industry rhetoric ahead of his tough 2010 re-election bid."

• "The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that challenges decades of restrictions on corporations and unions spending unlimited cash on just those sorts of ads. Even more broadly, the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, gives the court's conservative majority a chance to fundamentally redefine the role of corporations and unions in American politics," Politico reports. "Campaign finance experts predict the court, which has demonstrated an inclination towards incremental loosening of rules restricting the flow of money into politics, will expand the types of ads corporations and unions can pay for."