WASHINGTON -- Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who this fall campaigned hard for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, yesterday got only a mild rebuke from Senate Democrats.

On a 42-to-13 secret ballot, Senate Democrats agreed to let Mr. Lieberman keep the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairmanship, but criticized him for comments he made about President-elect Barack Obama amid the campaign.

Mr. Lieberman, who had been a lifelong Democrat before running as an independent in 2006, was stripped of a minor subcommittee chairmanship within the Environment and Public Works Committee, but was allowed to keep a subcommittee chairmanship within the Armed Services Committee.

The vote followed what Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., one of Mr. Lieberman's chief supporters, called a "robust debate."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was angry at Mr. Lieberman's actions, but also said, "This was not a time for retribution." Aiding Mr. Lieberman was Mr. Obama's position that he wasn't inclined to see the senator punished.

Mr. Lieberman was contrite after the vote, telling reporters: "There are some [comments] that I made that I wish I had not. In the heat of campaigns, that happens to all of us, but I regret that, and now it's time to move on."

Some senators were unforgiving, citing Mr. Lieberman's October comments that Mr. Obama was "naive" about world affairs, and that his party "is not the Democratic Party of my dear friend Bill Clinton."

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, recalled that Mr. Lieberman called an Obama vote against Iraq war funding a vote to put U.S. forces in danger, adding: "That's outrageous what he said."

Leading the effort to support Mr. Lieberman were Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who argued that his state benefited from retaining Mr. Lieberman in a powerful position, as well as Mr. Salazar and Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; and Tom Carper, D-Del. They noted that Mr. Lieberman had been a faithful party member all his life and voted with the party most of the time. Mr. Lieberman, they pointed out, also helped lead the party as its 2000 vice-presidential nominee.

His Iraq war support led to his defeat in Connecticut's 2006 Senate Democratic primary. Mr. Lieberman then ran as an independent and won the general election, garnering a huge majority of the Republican vote.

He caucused with Democrats in the current Congress. The Senate had 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans and two independents. The other independent, Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders, also sided with the Democrats.

Had Mr. Lieberman caucused with the GOP, Republicans would have had the majority, since Vice President Dick Cheney would have held the tie-breaking vote.

Democratic senators remembered that. "But for Joe Lieberman's vote, I'd have been in the minority the last two years," said Mr. Dodd, who has been Senate Banking Committee chairman since 2007.