By DAN FRIEDMAN, CONGRESSDAILY
The nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., to become Labor secretary in the Obama administration hit a snag Thursday, as Democrats announced that a Republican senator was using an anonymous hold to delay her confirmation over political concerns.
According to GOP aides, the hold was filed because of Solis' support for card-check legislation and backing for a pay-discrimination measure, and because of what they called her nonresponsive answers during a committee hearing regarding her nomination. Her backing of those issues puts her in good stead with Democrats but at odds with most Republicans.
"They're all radioactive issues that she is going to have to get involved in pretty deeply," one GOP aide said. The hold, if not lifted, would delay Solis from winning Senate confirmation once her nomination clears the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Solis is the latest Obama nominee to hit at a roadblock thrown up by Republicans whose objections are based on sensitive political matters. Most of the delays, such as the one involving Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have been lifted quickly. Holds that were placed against Lisa Jackson, Obama's choice to head the EPA, and Nancy Sutley, his pick for chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, were lifted Thursday.
Those two were confirmed Thursday evening by unanimous consent, along with nominees who were not held up by Republicans -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro.
By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER
The Senate acted swiftly just hours after President Obama's inauguration ceremonies to confirm six of his Cabinet nominees as well as his budget director.
By unanimous consent, the Senate confirmed at 3:42 p.m. Tuesday the nominations of Obama's picks to lead the departments of Energy (Steven Chu), Education (Arne Duncan), Homeland Security (Janet Napolitano), Interior (Ken Salazar), Veterans Affairs (Eric Shinseki) and Agriculture (Tom Vilsack).
The Senate also confirmed Peter Orszag to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, a Cabinet-level post. With those seven approvals, Obama came close to matching President George W. Bush's record of moving seven of his nominees into their new posts in 2001 on the same afternoon he was sworn in.
Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation to be secretary of State was delayed by a day at the insistence of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who requested a roll-call vote on her nomination. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate will have three hours to debate Clinton's appointment Wednesday before they vote Wednesday afternoon.
"I expect her to be easily confirmed," Cornyn conceded during an interview. But he explained that he wanted to deny Clinton unanimous-consent affirmation on Inauguration Day so he could use a floor vote to "air my concerns" that Bill and Hillary Clinton have not been "transparent enough" about President Clinton's foundation fundraising from foreign nationals. Cornyn wants the Clintons to do "more work" to eliminate conflicts of interest.
"If it doesn't get handled now, then it probably won't get handled, so it's important to talk about it," he told National Journal.
Cornyn said GOP senators may seek to place a hold on the confirmation of Eric Holder to be attorney general, once Holder wins approval from the Judiciary Committee, which could happen Wednesday. Such a hold would carry Senate consideration over into next week.
As he departed the Capitol Tuesday, Cornyn said he had spoken to Hillary Clinton about his concerns, and explained that he hoped to win changes in the disclosure agreement worked out between President Clinton and the government, because she is the nation's "top diplomat." The former first lady told Cornyn she had agreed to unusual disclosures and accountability measures to make her husband's transactions more visible, and that she hoped that any additional steps the Senate seeks would not be "specific to her," Cornyn said. Their conversations, he added, were "cool and civil. She understands the concerns."
By KIRK VICTOR
As the Senate Judiciary Committee grills Attorney General nominee Eric Holder, it is telling to take a look at how then-Sen. Barack Obama approached his votes on Cabinet nominees four years ago.
Obama opposed Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice for the nation's top law enforcement job, even as he supported the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of State -- an endorsement that put him at odds with his Illinois colleague, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, as well as some liberal activists.
In an interview with National Journal in 2006, Obama set out his rationale for those two votes. He backed Rice even though she had supported what he had referred to as the "dumb war" in Iraq, because, Obama said, "It was my judgment that the president has broad discretion to choose his executive team." She was confirmed 85-13.
But he said he used a different set of criteria for his vote on Gonzales. "I took a different tack when it came to the attorney general because I think the attorney general's job actually is to be the people's lawyer -- to tell the president what the law is and what he can't do and, based on some of the memos related to torture that I have seen from Alberto Gonzales, it didn't appear that he could say no to the president," Obama said in the interview.
Despite Obama's opposition, Gonzales was confirmed, 60-36, to become the first Hispanic attorney general. He resigned in 2007 amid charges that he had politicized the Justice Department and unfairly fired nine U.S. attorneys.
Ironically, some of the same questions that Obama raised about Gonzales are being raised about Holder today by Republicans who question whether he will exercise independence and follow the law wherever it leads -- even if it means being at odds with his friend, the president. Republicans asked about his role as deputy attorney general in the Clinton Administration when the president pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich and commuted the sentences of 16 Puerto Rican militants who had been convicted on sedition and weapons charges. Why had he not challenged the president?
Holder acknowledged some missteps. "My decisions were not always perfect," he said. "I made mistakes.... But with the benefit of hindsight, I can see my errors clearly, and I can tell you how I have learned from them." He also tried to reassure the skeptics at the hearing, saying that the Justice Department represents "not any one president, not any political party, but the people of this great country."
No senator has voiced opposition to Holder's confirmation at this point. Given the Democrats' majority on the committee and barring any unforeseen developments, Holder is expected to win the panel's approval and go on to be confirmed as the nation's first African-American attorney general.
If the left and right can find common ground on any of President-elect Barack Obama's major Cabinet picks so far, it's on Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner. Top political bloggers and political Insiders polled by National Journal this week are in closer agreement on Geithner than on three other high-profile picks: Hillary Rodham Clinton at State, Robert Gates at Defense and Eric Holder as attorney general.
Geithner's selection rated B+ grades from both Democratic and Republican Insiders; left-leaning bloggers gave him a B and right-leaners a B-. Commenters noted his involvement in the financial bailout talks as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank -- James Joyner of Outside The Beltway said he "presided over the meltdown of the financial sector in New York but is oddly considered a rock star in financial circles." A Democratic Insider said, "Time will tell whether the Geithner-[Henry] Paulson approach has been the correct one, but the economic crisis needed someone that insiders respect and support, and the Geithner pick has sent the right signals to the Hill, Wall Street, and the boardrooms."
The highest grade given to any pick was Clinton's A- from Democratic Insiders and Gates' A- from the GOP Insiders. "Her detractors will be pleasantly surprised at how well she works in his [Obama's] and our behalf," wrote one Democratic Insider who gave Clinton an A. One Republican who gave Gates an A said, "This tells me Obama is a realist, and won't buckle at the knees each time the Far Left comes calling."
The lowest grade was the D- that right-leaning bloggers gave to Holder, an official in the Clinton Justice Department under Janet Reno. "Holder served as No. 2 to one of the worst, most lawless attorneys general in U.S. history," said David Kopel of the Volokh Conspiracy. "His role and his lies in the Elian Gonzalez abduction were despicable."
Full results of both polls -- including Insiders' and bloggers' thoughts on an auto industry bailout -- are free on NationalJournal.com.
President-elect Obama's national security nominees have won praise from key Senate Democrats and appear to be headed toward smooth confirmations, CongressDaily reports today.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates' "actions in restoring a measure of accountability in the Pentagon" and highlighted his call for Afghans to increase their security role by doubling their army's size.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman called Janet Napolitano a "strong nominee" for Homeland Security secretary and said he looks forward to getting the Arizona governor's "perspective on the anti-terrorism responsibilities of the department."
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy suggested attorney general nominee Eric Holder will ally with Democrats who want to further overhaul the Justice Department in the wake of the firing of U.S. attorneys and a perception that the department is too politicized.
The full report is available to CongressDaily subscribers.
By AMY HARDER
Following in the wake of last week's Mumbai terrorist attacks, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team at a press conference this morning in Chicago. With unrest between India and Pakistan rising over the weekend, Obama addressed the situation briefly but declined to comment further when pressed by a reporter.
"This is one of those times that I reiterate that there is one president at a time," the president-elect said. "We will be engaged in delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, but what I can so unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands beside are absolutely committed eliminating the threat of terrorism."
That team includes several appointments that had been rumored for weeks -- Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Department secretary, Obama's campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations and Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser.
After announcing Clinton as his secretary of State, Obama was asked about "belittling" her international experience while on the campaign trial. "This is fun for the press to try to stir up whatever quotes were formed over the course of the campaign," Obama quipped in response. "If you look at statements that [Clinton] and I have made outside of the heat of the campaign, we share a view that America has to be safe and secure." He added that in making his decision, he never experienced a "light bulb moment"; rather, once their primary battle was over, he started thinking of ways they could work together.
Continue reading Obama Stresses Pragmatism Of Security Appointees.
(Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
The Obama-Biden transition team this morning made official several key appointments, confirming reports that the president-elect was seeking Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Eric Holder for attorney general and Robert Gates as secretary of Defense.
The team also confirmed that Arizona governor -- and early Obama endorser -- Janet Napolitano was Obama's pick for DHS chief, and named retired Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser and Susan Rice as ambassador to the U.N. Combined with previously announced names, today's rollout brings the total number of announced picks from the Obama team to 42.
Check back shortly for coverage and video of Obama's press conference unveiling his national security team.
Complete release available after the jump.
Continue reading Clinton, Holder, Gates Officially Announced.
Barack Obama's reported selection of Eric Holder as the next attorney general garnered mixed reviews from talking heads on Tuesday night and this morning.
By AMY HARDER
President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly "informally" offered the attorney general position to Washington lawyer Eric Holder, who has "informally" accepted. Even though there has been no official announcement as of this posting, the law blogosphere is buzzing.
The Wall Street Journal's law blog reports that names like Scooter Libby and Marc Rich will resurface quickly in light of this news. Holder signed off on President Bill Clinton's pardon of billionaire Rich, who had been represented by Libby for nearly a dozen years, the blog notes.
The Sentencing Law and Policy blog also discusses the pardon aspect of Holder's candidacy. Ohio State University professor Douglas A. Berman writes that while he's not "especially excited to learn that Obama's concept of hope and change for DOJ seems to involve the promotion of a former Clinton Administration high ranking DOJ official," he is going to keep an "open mind."
The Legal Times' blog acknowledges that while Holder does come "with some baggage," it's "probably not enough to jeopardize his nomination."
At the right-leaning Volokh Conspiracy blog, George Washington University professor Orin Kerr calls Holder a "very good pick." Reflecting on his time in the Justice Department, Kerr remembers Holder as being "smart and professional."
Meanwhile, TalkLeft has a series of posts on Holder's criminal justice record.
