The U.S. Capitol will be buzzing tomorrow, as two high-profile events are expected to take place at virtually the same time. And U.S. Sen. Jack Reed will be in the middle of both.

The Rhode Island legislator, who has emerged as a leading Democratic voice on defense issues, voted this evening as part of the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimous endorsement of Robert M. Gates to succeed Donald Rumsfeld as the new secretary of defense.

Reed is expected to make a statement on the Senate floor tomorrow when the full Senate debates the confirmation, according to Reed's spokesman Chip Unruh.

The nomination is expected to pass easily.

And tomorrow morning, the Baker-Hamilton Study Group will release its highly-anticipated report from the Iraq Study Group, which studies the Bush administration's Iraq policy and makes several recommendations.

Reed and other members of Congress have been invited to a private briefing on the report tomorrow morning around 9 a.m., Unruh said. Despite multiple leaks on the report in recent weeks, Reed has not yet viewed the document, Unruh said.

Reed has been asked to participate in a press conference later in the day to discuss the Iraq study, but given the timing of the Gates' vote and the regular caucus luncheons (which take place Wednesdays while Congress is in session), Reed's staff isn't sure what he can fit in tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow afternoon on projo.com for reaction from Reed and other members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation on the Iraq report.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples