It seems that the only thing left to republicans is crazed obfuscation. They think that by postponing Sebelius's nomination they postpone health care reform. The only thing the manage is a stern condemnation in 2010.
They are postponing her nomination for 2 weeks and Baucus is going along with it.
Politico's 44 whiteboard reads:
No vote today on Sebelius’s nomination for HHS. A Republican senator objected to voting on her nomination Thursday, Max Baucus told reporters. Baucus did not identify the senator, who he tried to persuade to drop the objection.
A Senate aide said senators wanted to follow regular order, requiring 48 hours notice before a committee vote, making it unlikely that a vote will happen before the two-week Senate recess. -- Carrie Budoff Brown (5:05 p.m.)
It seems that the only thing left to republicans is crazed obfuscation. They think that by postponing Sebelius's nomination they postpone health care reform. The only thing the manage is a stern condemnation in 2010. I wonder if this is done for pro-life political jockeying.
In other Sebelius-related news the governon was to divest from stock with companies that might present a conflict of interest as a precaution (WSJ)
Sebelius announced earlier Thursday that she and husband held "a couple of stocks" that could present a conflict of interest to her duties at HHS. An HHS spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday that Sebelius had investments in three publicly traded companies and one investment fund, from which she had agreed to divest.
The publicly traded companies are Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO), a titanium dioxide pigment manufacturer; NL Industries Inc. (NL), a holding company that owns a significant interest in Kronos Worldwide; and Westar Energy Inc. (WR), a Kansas-based electric energy provider. Sebelius and her husband also will divest shares in the Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund, which has the majority of its assets in foreign and U.S. energy companies.
The HHS statement didn't detail how the companies could be connected to work of the department. According to the statement, Sebelius "met with government ethics experts who advised her on potential conflicts should she be confirmed as HHS secretary," and Sebelius and her husband will divest themselves of the investments within 90 days.