Looks like Obama's State of the Union address and House Republican smackdown didn't change anything.
In a particularly pugnacious move, the GOP insisted Monday evening on a 60-vote threshold for a fairly middle-of-the-road nominee to be solicitor general at the Department of Labor. To be sure, Patricia Smith, the New York State Labor Commissioner, wouldn't be nominated by a Republican president and has the support of the AFL-CIO. But she also has the backing of New York business groups and local Chambers of Commerce, as well as GOP members of the New York House delegation.
Still, for Senate Republicans, she might as well have been Karl Marx and Van Jones wrapped into one.
Every Republican who showed up voted to sustain a filibuster against her nomination. As a result, it took every member of the Democratic caucus to end the filibuster, on a 60-32 vote. In a normal legislative body, a 2-1 vote is a rout. In today's Senate, it's a squeaker. - HuffPost
It's only going to get worse once we drop to 59. Might as well go to 58 and kick Joe Lieberman's ass out of the caucus.
A nice summary from the Washington Post on some of the nomination holds that are out there:
Among executive branch nominees, Martha N. Johnson has waited the longest. Obama nominated her to serve as General Services Administration administrator in May, and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee referred her to the full Senate in June.
Johnson's fate rests with Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.), who placed a hold on her nomination in July. Bond and the entire Missouri congressional delegation have sought information from the GSA for several years about plans to build a new federal building in Kansas City. The agency says that Bond now has the information he requested and that Johnson deserves a vote. ... The nomination of M. Patricia Smith to be the Labor Department's solicitor of labor has also been held up. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved Smith as the department's top lawyer in October, but Republicans have concerns about a wage-watch program she launched as New York state labor commissioner.
"Our nation could ask for no better solicitor of labor," Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said of Smith. "Working families and law-abiding employers have waited long enough. We cannot bring the full resources of the department to bear on meeting these challenges without a confirmed solicitor of labor."
Republicans, however, say that the wage program unfairly targets small businesses, and they say that Smith made contradictory statements to the Senate regarding the program's development.
Beyond the stalled nomination of Erroll Southers to lead the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA's parent agency, is still without a top manager. Obama nominated Rafael Borras to serve as the department's undersecretary for management in June. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) placed a hold on Borras this month, calling him unqualified. Other departments -- most notably Treasury -- are missing similar assistant and deputy secretaries, leaving many offices rudderless.
Here's another example of the GOP holding up Obama nominations for ridiculous reasons:
The nomination of one agency head continues to be held up in the Senate: Martha Johnson, tapped by the president in April to be head of the General Services Administration.
The culprit: Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo. The reason: real estate.
Specifically, Bond is trying to squeeze GSA into closing down the federally owned Bannister Complex outside Kansas City, Mo., and relocating the 1,200 federal employees there to leased space downtown.
GSA had earlier planned to do that, but it now intends to keep feds working at the Bannister Complex until it constructs a new building, a plan that GSA says will save money in the long run.
A GOP stall on all Health and Human Services nominees has left the department without a surgeon general during a period of a global flu pandemic, prompting the HHS secretary to call for Senate action.
Regina Benjamin, the surgeon general nominee, “is ready to be voted on in the Senate, and we would just strongly urge the United States Senate” to act, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during an MSNBC interview Friday in which she discused the department's response to the spread of the H1N1 virus. ... “We are facing a major pandemic, we have a well-qualified candidate for surgeon general, she’s been through the committee process. We just need a vote in the Senate,” Sebeilus said. “Please give us a surgeon general.”
Benjamin was unanimously approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Oct. 7, but Senate Republicans are holding up all HHS nominees over a so-called gag order on insurance companies that have been critical of Democratic efforts to reform health care. ... “We believe this hold is irresponsible,” a HELP Committee aide said. “Everyone agrees Regina Benjamin is abundantly qualified and clearly needed to fill this position.”
Benjamin is the only HHS nominee on the executive calendar awaiting Senate confirmation.
With Congress back in session, the nomination pipeline continues to flow, although the GOP still looks for opportunities to block it:
The ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has asked President Obama to drop his nominee for Department of Labor solicitor. Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyo.) suggests that M. Patricia Smith gave inconsistent testimony to the Senate panel about a New York wage theft prevention program she launched earlier this year.
Obama nominated Smith, New York state's labor commissioner, in March to the third-ranking job at the Labor Department. If confirmed, she would serve as general counsel to Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis after more than 30 years working on labor issues.
In a letter sent Monday to Obama, Enzi said Smith's testimony before the Senate panel in May contradicts documents obtained by committee staffers about New York's Wage and Hour Watch program. The project, modeled after the Neighborhood Watch program, launched in January in an effort to root out wage theft. ... The White House and Labor Department declined to comment on the specific allegations, instead issuing a statement from Solis, who said Smith "is tough, fair and innovative. Our nation could ask for no better solicitor of labor than this."
Here's what's coming up in Congress on the nomination schedule. The latest list can always be found in the left sidebar.
Hearings Scheduled:
Sep 9: Foreign Relations, Robert D. Hormats, of New York, to be Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs. Sep 9: Judiciary, Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., of New Jersey, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, Roberto A. Lange, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota, Irene Cornelia Berger, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia, Charlene Edwards Honeywell, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, and Ignacia S. Moreno, of New York, to be Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice. Sep 15: Armed Services, Michael G. Mullen, for reappointment as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reappointment to the grade of admiral.
Committee Votes Scheduled:
Sep 10: Judiciary, Jeffrey L. Viken, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota, and Beverly Baldwin Martin, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, and Peter F. Neronha, to be United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, Daniel G. Bogden, to be United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, Dennis K. Burke, to be United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, and Neil H. MacBride, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, all of the Department of Justice
In spite of plenty of ridiculous GOP nomination holds, which we'll get to, President Obama is doing just fine, with 230 nominees (not counting ambassadors, US attorneys or judges) confirmed by August 7, the start of the Senate summer recess. This compares very favorably with Ronald Reagan's modern-day record of 210 confirmations by his 6 month point in late July, 1981. (Haven't been able to find Reagan's early August numbers).
Obama's numbers were helped by another Friday frenzy of Senate confirmations, with 34 nominees being confirmed on August 7. The complete list, with the addition of ambassadors and attorneys, is after the break.
Unfortunately, the GOP continues to place holds on Obama's nominee. We'll start with the most obnoxious one first:
Concerned that their state could become the home for some Guantánamo Bay detainees, Kansas’ two Republican senators have placed a hold on the nomination of Rep. John M. McHugh as Army secretary. Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback are seeking answers from the Obama administration about the possible moves of some detainees to the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. -CQ Politics
and
Roberts and Brownback have also blocked Senate consideration of the Deputy Secretary of the Army, for the same reason. In both cases, the senators concede the nominees deserve consideration, but will have to wait until they're satisfied with an unrelated question. -Washington Monthly
“At a time of two wars, and when Secretary Gates has authorized a 22,000-soldier increase in end strength for the Army, it is simply irresponsible to play politics with these critical nominations.
Could you imagine the outcry if Democrats had blocked the confirmation of two Army secretarys during a time of war? Incredible.
Other holds we've previously reported on include EPA deputy administrator Robert Perciasepe, Director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Cass Sunstein, Assistant Secretary of State for western hemisphere affairs Arturo Valenzuela, and head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council Dawn Johnsen. Hopefully we'll get of these resolved in September.
With Sonia Sotomayor on track for a Committee vote on 7/28, and final confirmation in early August, let's take a look at some other nominees who are not having such smooth sailing:
Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-OH) is blocking the confirmation of the EPA’s deputy administrator, Robert Perciasepe, because of concern with the agency’s economic analysis of the House energy bill. Voinovich is dissatisfied with an EPA report on the economic effects of a climate change bill (HR 2454) that passed the House in June.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is opposing the nominations of Bob Abbey to be the Bureau of Land Management administrator and Wilma Lewis to be Interior's assistant secretary for land and minerals until the Obama administration takes a position on his legislation to clear a path for a copper mine in Arizona's Tonto National Forest.
The nomination of Cass Sunstein, to be the director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was being held up by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Then Saxby lifted his hold last week, and Sen. John Cornyn put a hold on the nomination, as he thinks Sunstein wants to allow animals to sue people in court.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has delayed committee votes on two State Department posts, Arturo Valenzuela to be Assistant Secretary of State for western hemisphere affairs and Thomas Shannon to be Ambassador to Brazil, over objections to the administration's policy towards Honduras.
President Barack Obama has no plans to use a recess appointment to install Dawn Johnsen as head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council, according to a White House official.
Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor, has drawn opposition from conservatives over her positions on abortion and the war on terror.
Johnsen’s nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote on March 20 following a contentious hearing on Feb. 25.
The White House does not expect the Senate to act soon on Johnsen’s nomination, and it appears she could remain in limbo into the fall. -Roll Call
Johnsen is the only nominee who was announced before Obama was inaugurated who is still not yet confirmed.
Obama has now announced more nominations then Reagan, Clinton or George W. Bush did at the 6-month point, but he trailed Reagan by 25 confirmations at that point.
Robert Groves was confirmed as Census Director this afternoon. The confirmation was by voice vote, which followed a 76-15 cloture vote. We've been especially interested in Grove's nomination, so we're happy to see him confirmed, and happy to see Harry Reid push a nomination through.
Mark Blumenthal liveblogged the debate. Here are some highlights:
4:54 p.m. - Senators Vitter and Shelby lead off against Groves (and cloture). Their objection? Their questions to the Obama administration about the role in the Census of the organization formerly known as ACORN have not been answered.
5:05 p.m. - ACORN is one of 30,000 organizations the Census Bureau uses to get the word out.
5;23 p.m. - Carl Levin (D-MI): Groves "may be the best qualified candidate ever nominated" to direct the Census.
Susan Collins (R-ME) , on the helpful endorsement of Groves by the American Statistical Association: "I did not know that such an organization existed."
5;55 p.m. - Among others, Republican Senators Kyl, McCain, Martinez, Corker, Gregg, Coburn and McConnell vote "aye
6:00 p.m. - And just like that, we have a new Census director.
81% of you believe that Harry Reid will be able to get Robert Groves confirmed, based on last week's DCW polling.
According to the Senate's published schedule, at 4:30 this afternoon they will meet in Executive Session to consider the nomination of Robert M. Groves to be Director of the Census. Then, at 5:30, they will hold the cloture vote on the Groves nomination.
In the past, the cloture vote has been combined with the "actual" vote, so if he gets 60 in the cloture vote, Dr. Groves would be considered confirmed. But there's always a chance there will be a need for two votes. Bernie Sanders has been pushing for the Democrats to vote "yea" when it comes to getting past cloture, even if they plan to vote against a specific bill. Whether he intended this for nominations also is unclear.
The idea is that if you're a Democrat and you're opposed to a piece of legislation (or potentially a nominee) STILL vote with your party and allow the up or down vote to commence.
As Matt reported last night, Francis Collins has been nominated by President Obama to head NIH. Dr. Collins headed the human genome project. For those of us brought up on Watson and Crick and were sure there had to be more, Dr. Collins and his team's work is nothing short of extraordinary. They mapped more than 90% of what makes each of us the individuals we are. In the process, they unlocked clues to all sorts of diseases and conditions which lend hope to solving medical mysteries. (Please note that I have avoided sentences with words like haploid, diploid, sequencing, organelles, etc, etc, because I know how they make most people's eyes roll...but the option is there if anyone wants it...)
Gene sequencing is pure science. It is devoid of politics. The only politicization of any form of genetics is that we're never allowed to speak about the potentiality that intelligence may have a genetic component. There is a group of scientists who have identified one gene which, when expressed dominantly increases median IQ for a certain group, but when expressed recessively can lead to a fatal illness. But we don't talk about it.
You may wonder what he's doing now. He's actually formed the BioLogos Foundation. It's mission statement:
The BioLogos Foundation promotes the search for truth in both the natural and spiritual realms seeking harmony between these different perspectives.
Dr. Francis Collins established The BioLogos Foundation to address the escalating culture war between science and faith in the United States. On one end of the spectrum, “new atheists” argue that science removes the need for God. On the other end, religious fundamentalists argue that the Bible requires us to reject much of modern science. Many people — including scientists and believers in God — do not find these extreme options attractive.
I respect Dr. Collins and think he would be a terrific choice to head NIH. I find BioLogos to be interesting, although I doubt there is much buy-in within the scientific community. The more liberal someone is, the less likely he/she is to believe the religious view of "science". For example, there is not one legitimate scientist who believes that creationism is science. Maybe you can find one who believes in creationism as a religious construct, but science? Not a chance.
Scientists, by the way, are far more liberal in their political leanings than the general public, and far less religious, according to the most recent Pew poll:
Lots of nomination progress this week, including a modern day nomination record (see below). But we start with another Friday evening blizzard of confirmations from the Senate:
Peter Silva Silva-Assistant Administrator EPA Victor Mendez--Administrator, Federal Highway Administration Raphael William Bostic--Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development David Stevens--Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, Department of Housing and Urban Development Christopher Dell--Ambassador Republic Kosovo Charles Rivkin--Ambassador Monaco Louis Susman--Ambassador Great Britain/Northern Ireland Laurie Fulton--Ambassador Denmark Timothy Roemer--Ambassador India Gordon Gray--Ambassador Republic Tunisia Richard Schmierer--Ambassador Sultanate of Oman Mark Gitenstein--Ambassador Romania Phyllis Borzi--Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security, Labor Department Nicole Lurie--Medical Director Public Health Service, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services Gordon Heddell--Inspector General, Department of Defense
That puts the number of confirmations (not counting ambassadors at 183). That inches Obama closer to the modern late-August (6 months after inauguration) record of 210 confirmations (Reagan, 1981).
But the big news is that Obama has made a number of new nomination announcements this week, bringing his total to 284, blowing past the Reagan 1981 number of 282 announcements by late-August (ambassadors and US Attorneys not included):
# John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and Economic Development Administration Administrator, Department of Commerce # Anthony Marion Babauta, Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas, Department of the Interior # Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health, Department of Labor # Alexa E. Posny, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education # Christopher P. Bertram, Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Transportation # Terry A. Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations and Environment, Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense # Kelvin James Cochran, U.S. Fire Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security # Joseph G. Pizarchik, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior # Daniel R. Elliott, III, Chairman, Surface Transportation Board # Patricia D. Cahill, Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting # Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Department of State # Stephen J. Rapp, Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, Department of State # Alexander G. Garza, Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, Department of Homeland Security # Susan L. Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Department of Transportation # Joe Garcia, Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy # Kenneth A. Spearman, Member of the Board of Directors, Farm Credit Administration # Rolena Adorno, Member of the National Council on the Humanities # Marvin Krislov, Member of the National Council on the Humanities # Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. # Brian Hayes, Member of the National Labor Relations Board # Philip D. Murphy, Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany # Richard A. Serino, Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security # Dr. Marcia K. McNutt, Director of the United States Geological Survey and Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior # Glyn Davies, United States Representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador and United States Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, with the rank of Ambassador # Jim R. Esquea, Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services # Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Judges:
Irene Berger for the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Roberto Lange for the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.
US Attorneys:
Dennis Burke, District of Arizona Steven Dettelbach, Northern District of Ohio Brendan Johnson, District of South Dakota Karen Loeffler, District of Alaska Florence T. Nakakuni, District of Hawaii Carter M. Stewart, Southern District of Ohio
While it seems like Obama's nominees are getting announced and confirmed at a snail's pace, the reality is that he's doing pretty well compared to his predecessors. As of today, the Obama administration has announced 254 nominees (about half of the 493 total - not counting ambassadors, judges and US Attorneys). and 174 have been confirmed. (Latest numbers always in the left sidebar).
How does this compare? Here are the numbers for 3 of his predecessors at the 6-month mark (late August July):
George W, Bush: 257 announced, 157 confirmed Bill Clinton: 209 announced, 170 confirmed Ronald Reagan: 282 announced, 210 confirmed
(Bush had a short transition, although by now you could argue his numbers should have caught up. Which makes Clinton's numbers look even worse. Bush the elder's numbers can't be used as a comparison, as a same-party transition keeps a lot of holdover appointees.).
The Senate has five weeks left before it starts its summer recess, We'll be watching to see if Obama can beat Reagan's numbers.
July 9: Energy and Natural Resources, Wilma A. Lewis, of the Virgin Islands, to be an Assistant Secretary, and Robert V. Abbey, of Nevada, to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management, both of the Department of the Interior; and Richard G. Newell, of North Carolina, to be Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, Department of the Energy.
Here's the list of "sub-cabinet" nominations that have been submitted to Congress. The most noticeable missing name: Leon Panetta, to be director of the CIA.
Wouldn't getting the head of the CIA through the Senate be considered important enough to include on the first list of nominations?
As Matt 
