In the final year of President Obama's term in office, he's facing a challenge that most lame-duck presidents deal with: an executive branch not running on full steam because staff are heading for the exits to secure new positions. The problem for this president, however, is made far worse than any recent president has faced because so many vacancies in the administration already exist, and have existed for a big chunk of his years in office. That's because so many of his nominees have been blocked or just ignored by Senate Republicans.
New data compiled by the Congressional Research Service and obtained by POLITICO found that the Senate in 2015 confirmed the lowest number of civilian nominations—including judges and diplomatic ambassadors—for the first session of a Congress in nearly 30 years.
The sheer number of vacancies is having a real-world effect on Obama, whose government is on high alert for terrorist attacks and still plans to wage domestic policy fights right up until the lights go out in January 2017. On the international stage, observers say Obama’s officials without confirmation don’t carry the same level of gravitas when meeting with their diplomatic counterparts. In domestic policy disputes, Senate-confirmed staff carries more weight than the equivalent department leaders with "acting" or deputy titles.
"It's trying to run the executive branch on top of a block of Swiss cheese full of holes," said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Check out this comparison: "Obama's nominees from 2009 through 2014 faced confirmation lengths that were nearly twice as long as Ronald Reagan's—an average of 59.4 days for the Republican versus 127.2 days for the current president." For his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, that wait was 97.4 days. For Clinton, 91.8, and for George H.W. Bush it was 67.3.
One prominent Republican says pointing that out is just whining. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) blames it on President Obama for delaying sending up nominations. "They don't get them up here with any expedition," continuing "and then they bitch about it, or cry about it, I should say, when it's really their fault." He also said the administration isn't at all short-staffed. "In fact, if anything, they’re top-heavy with people. They act like they’re oppressed. My gosh, it drives you crazy.”
That's quite a contrast to what Hatch had to say about Democrats under Bush the Younger. "They are not being fair to the president," he cried. "They're not being fair to the independents of the judiciary. They're not being fair to the process, and the process is broken." So, yeah, Orrin Hatch knows something about crocodile tears. And, like pretty much all Republicans, he's absolutely fine with doing actual damage to the nation—at home and abroad—by keeping the government hobbled just to score political points.