LBJ thought he was going to run the Senate as VP just as he had run the Senate as Majority Leader. Mike Mansfield of Montana became the new Majority Leader, and power continued to flow to the committee chairmen who were overwhelmingly Southern Democrats.
Lyndon walked around the Senate cloakroom like a ghost, ignored by the senators he used to terrorize. It was the worst period of his political life. He had no power, no influence and no respect.