The backlog of Presidential appointees has reached critical mass, and the hurried-up appointment of Scott Brown today, expressly in time to "torpedo" the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, has Harry Reid calling for drastic measures--recess appointments:
Speaking on the Senate floor today, Reid outlined a way Obama can get his nominees situated, even if Republicans oppose them unanimously.
"There isn't enough time in the world--Senate world at least--to move cloture on every one of these. We have spent all week--all this week--on two people," Reid said.
"I have been someone...who has tried hard not to do--have the President do recess appointments. But what alternative do we have?" Reid asked rhetorically.
"We have on the calendar dozens of people who have been held up. Dozens. And I've only picked out a few. These are people dealing with the safety and security of our country. I think it's just without explanation why this is happening."
How big is the backlog? Pretty damned big:
One year into the Bush administration, there were 70 appointees awaiting confirmation. One year into the Obama administration, there are 177. And dozens of those holds are directly affecting the agencies responsible for the United States' security and foreign policy, amid two wars and an amped-up terrorism threat. The United States has no ambassador to Ethiopia, no head of the Office of Legal Counsel, no director at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, no agricultural trade representative.
The Senate Dem caucus blogs more info:
Democrats understand their constitutional obligation with respect to the confirmation process. For proof, take a look at President Bush's first year in office:
* Only 3 nominees waited to be confirmed for at least 3 months
Compare these statistics with President Obama's first year:
* 46 nominees waited to be confirmed for at least 3 months
* 45 of Obama's nominees lingered for at least 4 months
* 9 waited for at least 6 months
Who are some of these nominees that Republicans have slow-walked?
* General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the forces in Afghanistan
* Secretary of the Army, John McHugh - a Republican - had a hold placed on him by Republican Senators
* Democrats were forced to file cloture on Chris Hill, now Ambassador to Iraq. That vote ended up 73-17.
In the wake of the Christmas Day bombing attempt, Republicans are still slow-walking two critical intelligence nominees:
* Philip Goldberg, nominee to lead the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research
* Caryn Wagner, nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis
During his first seven years in office, Bush made 171 recess appointments, of which 105 were to full-time positions. [pdf] A recess appointment would last the remainder of this legislative session--the rest of this year. There's one way to answer Republican obstructionism: roll over it. Whether by using reconciliation for must-pass bills, or recess appointments for these appointments, blasting through Republicans is the only way. It might send some ConservaDems and Villagers to the fainting couch, but it has to happen.
Update: Shelby just made this issue even more pertinent:
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary "blanket hold" on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, CongressDaily (sub. req.) reports. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.
"While holds are frequent," CongressDaily reports, "Senate aides said a blanket hold represents a far more aggressive use of the power than is normal."
