Byrd was Senate Dem leader for 12 years back in the 70's and 80's. I didn't hear a peep out of anybody then.
He is currently chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee (a position he preferred to being party leader) and president pro tem of the Senate, fourth in the line of presidential succession. If the Dems succeed in retaining a Senate majority out of this, he'll retain both positions. Even if they don't, he'll still be ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, no weak position.
Continuing his upward trajectory, Senator Byrd became a member of the Senate Leadership in 1967, when he was selected by his colleagues as Secretary of the Democratic Conference. In 1971, he was chosen Senate Democratic Whip. In 1977, he was elected Democratic Leader by his Democratic colleagues, a position he held for six consecutive terms. For the 12 years he held the position of Democratic Leader -- from January 1977 through December 1988 -- Senator Byrd served as Senate Majority Leader six years (1977-80, 1987-88) and as Senate Minority Leader six years (1981-86).
In 1989, for the first time, Senator Byrd had the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, on which he has held membership since the beginning of 1959. Also in 1989, Senator Byrd was unanimously elected President pro tempore of the Senate, a post that placed him third in line of succession to the Presidency and gave him the distinction of having held more leadership positions in the U.S. Senate than any other Senator of any party in Senate history. In June 2001, in an unprecedented shift of leadership, Senator Byrd regained the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee and was re-elected President pro tempore of the Senate.
This biography says Byrd was elected president pro tem. I thought you got it automatically by virtue of seniority. It seems the Senate RATs elected him president pro tem again after Jeffords jumped last year. That was after Byrd's "white N*****" comment, wasn't it?