(Lancaster) -- The selection of freshman U.S. Senator Pat Toomey on the powerful "super committee" on deficit reduction could be a signal the Republican's star is on the rise. Toomey has only been in office for eight months. Now, he's a member of the powerful 12-member panel tasked with trimming more than $1 trillion from the deficit. Political analyst Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster says the Pennsylvania Republican's selection is a surprise -- especially in the tradition-bound, seniority-driven Senate. On the other hand, he says Toomey is a logical choice. "I think Toomey has emerged, in the Senate anyway, among Republicans as one of the most vocal and articulate spokespersons for the debt reduction cause and for examining the huge cost of entitlements moving forward," he says. Madonna says Toomey and fellow freshman Senator Rob Portman of Ohio can be called rising stars in the GOP, but whether they can build on that status will depend on the success of the committee. The panel is responsible for reaching a bipartisan agreement to cut $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.