CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
June 6, 2011 – 9:10 p.m.
For Leverage, Senate GOP Eyes Nominations
By Brian Friel, CQ Staff
Republicans are increasingly using the Senate’s power of advice and consent to gain leverage with the Obama administration on financial, trade and foreign policy matters at a time when few bills are moving.
In one of the latest examples, 44 of the 47 Senate Republicans — enough to sustain a filibuster — have threatened to delay confirmation of John Bryson as Commerce secretary until the administration submits trade deals with Panama, Colombia and Korea for congressional approval.
Minority Whip
And Peter Diamond, the administration’s nominee for a Federal Reserve Board seat, withdrew his name from consideration, citing monthslong delays resulting from Alabama Republican
The increasing willingness of the Republican minority to hold up nominations in an attempt to win concessions comes as the Senate is preparing to consider a change in the confirmation process. Legislation expected on the floor later this month would reduce the number of appointments subject to Senate confirmation.
Certainly, the current GOP minority is not the first to use confirmations as bargaining chips. Blocking or slowing down the confirmations of presidential nominees is a tactic that has been used by senators in both parties to get the attention of Senate leaders and presidents.
Senators in both parties are also using the confirmation process to score political points ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.
The slow pace of legislative activity in the Senate this year has provided few opportunities for senators to offer amendments making policy or political points, leading them to be more creative in exercising their advice-and-consent role on nominations.
Presidential nominees have become lightning rods for policy disputes over trade, finance and foreign policy, prompting fresh complaints about the confirmation process.
“You know the process is broken when a Nobel laureate in economics is denied a post in the Federal Reserve,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday when asked about Diamond’s withdrawal. “When you have highly qualified, highly regarded nominees for posts like this, the Senate should act accordingly and allow that nomination to go forward.”
Altering the Confirmation Process
To appease critics of the Senate’s role in delaying presidential nominees, Reid and Minority Leader
For Leverage, Senate GOP Eyes Nominations
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Proponents say cutting the confirmation rolls would allow senators to focus on the other 1,000 or so executive branch civilian positions that are subject to the Senate’s advice and consent.
Given the support of both Reid and McConnell, the measures will likely be approved, but Republicans
None of these measures will affect any of the high-profile nomination fights currently facing the Senate, since those positions affect nominees who still face full-committee consideration and Senate approval.
While complaining about the confirmation process, Carney was careful to give credit to the Senate for approving many of Obama’s nominees.
“I’m not suggesting that it’s uniform,” Carney said. “We have had obviously some nominees move forward, and we appreciate that, and we’d like to see others move forward.”
Verrilli Vote
A case in point came Monday evening when the Senate voted to confirm Donald B. Verrilli Jr. as solicitor general.
While Reid had complained earlier in the day that Republicans were threatening to hold up Verrilli’s confirmation, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to set aside a planned procedural vote on the nomination.
Kyl said Monday the administration can complain about the confirmation process — but officials need to respect senators’ prerogatives.
“It’s fair for us to complain when they don’t cooperate with us on things that are necessary for the Senate to function properly,” Kyl said.