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 KEVIN FRIEDL
Calling alternative energy "a leading priority of my presidency and a defining test of our time," President-elect Obama this afternoon announced his top energy and environmental nominations at a press conference held in Chicago's Drake Hotel. The choices were no less consequential for being entirely expected, signaling a commitment from the Obama administration to bolster an enervated Environmental Protection Agency and encourage alternative energy and green job creation.
As was widely rumored in the run-up to today's announcements, Obama named Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, as his pick to run the Department of Energy, and Clinton-era EPA administrator Carol Browner as his "energy czar." In that position, Browner will coordinate policy on energy and climate change. Rounding out the Obama "green team" were Lisa Jackson as his choice for EPA administrator and Nancy Sutley to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
The presser was held after an earlier meeting Obama held with his national security team, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Biden accompanied the president-elect to the Drake, where he landed a rare speaking part, praising predecessor Al Gore, with whom he and Obama recently met, and taking a not-so-subtle jab at the office's current holder.
"I pledge to the American people that the office of the vice president will no longer be an obstacle to environmental protection, but it will be, as it was under Al Gore, a force for leaping ahead," Biden said.
As the presser wound down and Obama fielded two questions in a row about his energy policy, it appeared as though he would be able to avoid any mention of disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But reporters managed to slip one past the goalie, asking Obama to address reports that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with Blagojevich's office.
Obama sidestepped the question, repeating his statement that he had no contact with the governor's office or "anybody in the governor's office" and that his staff hadn't done anything "inappropriate." Referring to a statement released earlier today by his transition team, Obama said they had conducted a review of their office's contact with the governor's office but were holding it at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office.
"This appalling set of circumstances that we've seen arise had nothing to do with my office, and those facts will be forthcoming to all of you in due course," Obama said. "We just want to make sure that we're not interfering with an ongoing and active investigation."
Check in with National Journal's Energy and Environment blog to see what our panel of experts has to say about Obama's nominees.
