CNN reported late Thursday that:
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a vocal privacy advocate, has formally objected to the Senate voting Friday on CIA director nominee Rep. Mike Pompeo's nomination after Donald Trump is sworn in as president, a source familiar with the situation told CNN Thursday.
Instead, the source said, the Pompeo vote would likely be pushed back until Monday, after senators critical of Pompeo's confirmation have time to vocalize their concerns during debate on the floor.
Technically, they’ve all been “nominations” up to this point, because Trump wasn’t president yet. He has to be sworn into office before he’s able to send the required formal notice to the Senate naming his picks. But once he’s in, the Senate is free to actually vote on them.
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CNN’s report lists three national security-related nominations considered to be less controversial, which Republicans hoped to speed through on Friday afternoon: Pompeo, Defense secretary nominee Ret. Gen. James Mattis and homeland security secretary Ret. Gen. John Kelly. In addition, some other less controversial nominations might be considered. Under normal circumstances, such nominations might sail through, perhaps even on voice votes. Republicans, of course, can be expected to threaten Democrats with the specter of terrorism if Trump’s national security team isn’t rubber stamped on Day One. (Even though the president himself plans to take Day One, and Days Two and Three, off from work.)
But these aren’t normal circumstances, and this administration will be controversial from top to bottom, and beginning to end. Never before have so many nominees with incomplete or nonexistent ethics and financial disclosure submissions been considered, and that’s not even to mention their outlandish, extremist views. Or any connections they may have to, let’s say, odd or unexpected actors, whether here at home or overseas.
Although these nominations no longer require 60 votes to invoke cloture, the 2013 rules change did not eliminate the cloture rules. Senators may still engage in extended debate over any one or all of these nominations, and though it will only require a simple majority vote to invoke cloture, the rules still permit up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate. With hundreds of nominations (possibly over a thousand, if all possible positions are filled), each costing a minimum of 30 hours, Democrats can exact a fairly serious price for the flouting of ethics and financial disclosure norms.
And they should. Starting on Friday. By following Senator Wyden’s example.