Before starting his much-deserved summer vacation, President Obama made four long-overdue recess appointments.
President Obama made four recess appointments Thursday for nominees that have waited an average of 303 days for confirmation, the White House said.
"At a time when our nation faces so many pressing challenges, I urge members of the Senate to stop playing politics with our highly qualified nominees, and fulfill their responsibilities of advice and consent," Obama said in a statement announcing the appointments. "Until they do, I reserve the right to act within my authority to do what is best for the American people."
The most contentious of the appointments is Maria del Carmen Aponte, the administration's pick for ambassador to El Salvador.
Senate Republicans questioned her during a March confirmation hearing about a former romantic relationship with a Cuban national connected to Cuban intelligence.
I wonder how many past romantic relationships of men the Senate Republicans give a shit about. The other appointments he made yesterday include "Elisabeth Hagen as the Agriculture Department's undersecretary for food safety, Winslow Sargeant as chief counsel for advocacy at the Small Business Administration, and Richard Sorian as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services."