CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
– EXECUTIVE BRANCH
May 12, 2009 – 8:53 p.m.
Interior Nomination Likely To Be Rejected in Senate
By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff
The Senate appears poised to reject President Obama’s nominee to the No. 2 post at the Interior Department, a situation that could escalate tensions between Senate Republicans and the White House.
Majority Leader Harry Reid ’s office signaled late Tuesday that Republican opposition would prevent Senate Democrats from securing the 60 votes needed to move forward with the nomination of David Hayes as deputy secretary of Interior.
The Senate will vote Wednesday morning to invoke cloture and limit debate on the nomination. If the chamber can’t muster 60 votes, as expected, Hayes’ nomination will stall.
“It’s outrageous, and it’s not fair to President Obama who deserves to have his deputies installed in key Cabinet departments,” said Reid spokesman Jim Manley, who described Republicans’ objections as “petty.”
No other Obama nominee has come to a vote and failed to get the support necessary for confirmation. The only other Obama nominee who faced a cloture vote was Christopher Hill, who was confirmed as ambassador to Iraq on April 21 by a vote of 73-23, after voting to end debate on the nomination April 20 by a vote of 73-17.
Reid filed for cloture May 11 on Hayes’ nomination, which has been delayed because of a controversy about oil and gas development. Robert F. Bennett , R-Utah, said in March that he would try to hold up floor consideration because he objected to the department’s decision to cancel oil and gas drilling leases near several national parks in Utah.
Bennett spokeswoman Tara Hendershott said late Tuesday that Bennett was encouraging every Republican to oppose the nomination.
In a statement, Bennett confirmed that he should have enough support from his colleagues to block the nomination.
“Members understand this is about national energy policy and the minority’s right to be heard.” Bennett said.
Reid had been trying Tuesday to negotiate a deal that would allow the Senate to forgo the cloture vote and prevent a Republican filibuster, forcing an eventual vote on Hayes’ confirmation.
But the majority leader said late in the day that the cloture vote appeared unavoidable.
“I cannot imagine we would have to invoke cloture on a Cabinet nomination, someone that is going to work for one of our cabinet officers . . . but it appears that there are a lot of people not willing to even allow a vote on David Hayes,” Reid said.
Reid criticized Hayes’ opponents for trying to block a confirmation vote on a nominee that has been heralded by their recent colleague, former Sen. Ken Salazar , D-Colo.
Salazar now heads the Interior Department, and has described Hayes as “the right person at the right time for this job,”
A spokesman for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., referred questions to Bennett’s office.
Hayes did a previous stint as deputy secretary of the Interior from 1999 to 2001. He worked on water management approaches in the West, settling long-standing Indian water and land disputes, and establishing new national parks, including Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
Hayes also was a member of Obama’s transition team.
Comments
How is a failed cloture motion a rejection on the nomination? The senate doesnt even vote on the nomination as long as debate on it hasnt closed... The confirmation on a presidential nominee requires 51 votes, not 60. Dont spread Republican myths.
No sweat. Obama should just pull a Dubya and appoint him with a recess appointment after Congress breaks for Memorial Day.
Michael - If they cannot muster enough votes for cloture, the vote cannot go forward, effectively requiring 60 votes to pass. Thus, the party of NO can still block legislation, but cannot pass its own. Same situation existed in the last two years of the shrub administration without the Presidential veto if Congress did manage to pass legislation. Thus the low approval ratings of that Congress and the inevitable republican claim that the democrat-controlled senate had lower approval ratings than the shrub.
"Members understand this is about national energy policy and the minority's right to be heard." No, this is not about the minority's right to be heard. This is about the minority thinking it has the right to get whatever it wants all the time by blocking appointments of key officials. Plain and simple. Hey GOP, you talked, we listened, we disagreed, you're in the minority, quit whining like you a little kid who says "I'm gonna take my ball and go home because I'm losing".
Get some balls, Harry!!!
Obama's policy about oil leases is one he run on and won on. The "drill baby drill" people lost big time. Moreover, Hayes is a qualified appointee, and this appears to have nothing to do with him personally. I agree that Obama should use a recess appointment. They're provocative, but so is rejecting an uncontroversial appointee. Bennett and Republicans offered the first provocation. As long as they're going to play games, a little gamesmanship from the White House would not be untoward. And Hayes shouldn't be victimized just because a lot of oil men give money to the GOP.
Michael - all votes, on issues that are subject to filibuster, in essence require 60 votes as long as the minority decides to block the nominee/legislation. If the cloture vote goes down, there will be no vote on the nominee, thus the nominee is rejected. There is no ongoing "debate" that will simply continue if cloture fails, as the purpose of this, and most other filibusters, is to impose a 60 vote requirement for what would otherwise require a simple majority. It's no myth, and it has happened *many* times in the past on both sides of the isle. What Reid *should* do is publicly, frequently, and vociferously point out the Republican hypocrisy inherent in this tactic. One they derided at great length when they were in the majority, even threatening to change the senate rules so Bush's judicial nominees couldn't be filibustered.
My comment was not about procedure, I understand the concept of a filibuster. My issue is with wording. The nomination is rejected when a majority of the Senate votes against confirmation (or when a majority in a committee against moving the nomination to the floor). A failed cloture motion leads to a delay in the nomination, not to a rejection. Reid can repeat the cloture motion anytime, esp. when Franken has been seated.
Get some balls, Harry!!! Right on the money Christopherflynn. Dems, get some balls. Get mad and get even! Eight years of corruption from Alfred E. Newman, Darth Vader and Repubs still have no shame, so screw em, or kill em. Both sound good to me!
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