Rep. Mel Watt
Here's where the filibuster deal Harry Reid struck with Senate Republicans to finally approve executive branch nominations breaks down, and it's a
"snub of a colleague that has no modern precedent" according to
Roll Call [sub req.] The nominee in question is Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency. His nomination has been passed out of committee and is awaiting floor action. Which it won't get before the August recess.
If his nomination is effectively spiked by a cloture vote this fall, which looks to be the best bet at the moment, or if he withdraws in the face of rejection, Watt would be the first sitting member of Congress in decades who’s been nominated for a confirm-able position and then denied by the Senate. [...]
The previous five members picked by President Barack Obama for administration jobs all cruised through without any discernible dissent. So did the half-dozen people President George W. Bush plucked from Congress for senior executive branch positions.
What’s different this time? It’s complicated, but there’s no tangible evidence of any personal animosity toward Watt. He seems pretty well regarded in the Senate as a liberal who’s a skilled and willing negotiator on legislation he’s had a hand in writing on both the Financial Services and Judiciary committees, where he’s also risen to fourth in Democratic seniority.
The easiest answer is that the Senate is just as polarized since its filibuster confrontation was averted two weeks ago, with Republicans who feel they were outmaneuvered in that showdown determined to extract some revenge.
Apparently the Republicans have a quota for cooperation, and they've filled it by confirming a handful of President Obama's choices. Or maybe there was a super-secret expiration date for cooperation put on the deal. But more likely, the issue is one of allowing a department head who has policy ideas that could actually help people get the job. Namely, they want to make sure any effort to help people who are underwater on mortgages is stymied. Watt would work to allow federally-insured borrowers negotiate with banks to reduce their principal, something the acting director, Edward DeMarco, who came to the agency in the Bush administration, won't do. They like the status quo here.
The Senate had a brief reprieve in which some critical stuff actually got done. That's obviously not going to happen again. Filibuster reform is far from over.
Tell your Democratic senators to keep filibuster reform moving, and to bring back the talking filibuster.