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If Republicans win the Senate, the Pentagon should brace for constant grilling from Sen. John McCain, who has found fault with nearly every aspect of President Barack Obama's national security policies.

McCain would be on tap to serve as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee if the GOP wrests majority control from the Democrats in next month's midterm elections. The senator who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election has never suffered fools or equivocating witnesses gladly, and he would be certain to use his new perch for tough questioning about Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and military spending.

A Republican majority would usher in major changes in committee leadership, with political opposites replacing the current Democratic chairmen and setting a markedly different agenda from the past eight years of Democratic control. The size of a Republican majority would determine committee ratios and budgets; more seats in the Senate translate into a greater advantage on the panels.

Obama, the former Illinois senator, knows what it will mean for the last two years of his presidency.

"If we lose the Senate, for one thing, the way this Senate's been operating, they could end up blocking all my appointments so that I can't get the people I want to be in a position to move my agenda forward," he said in an interview last week on the "Rickey Smiley Morning Show." ''If we lose the Senate, I guarantee you they're going to try to roll back health care legislation again."

The new committees would be filled in January or February. Here's a look at the likely chairmen of the major panels:

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ARMED SERVICES: McCain stepped down after his six years as the ranking member, yielding the job to Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe. The Arizona lawmaker has made it clear that if Republicans win the Senate, he would pursue the chairmanship under GOP rules that allow a senator to serve as chairman for six years despite hitting the six-year limit as ranking member. McCain has widely criticized the administration as weak and ineffective in countering threats overseas and favors far more aggressive policies. Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan has led the panel and is retiring from the Senate after six terms.

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APPROPRIATIONS: Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, who turns 77 in December, would likely helm the committee that crafts the 13 spending bills to fund government agencies and departments, replacing Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, the Republican who would become majority leader, has made it clear that the GOP would attach provisions to the spending bills, known as riders, to challenge Obama's policies. McConnell has said the so-called riders would deal with the health care law, financial services and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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A Republican Senate means changing the chairmen