Biden Cabinet Confirmation Live Thread ***hearings, votes, etc.***

[brucejoel99]

Klob votes aye.

I miss the good old days of late 2019/early 2020. The Klob-Pete feud was so entertaining.

I really want a Klob-Pete (or even better, Pete-Klob) ticket in 2028.
Give me a brokered convention, leading to a unity ticket that forces them to work together for four years.

The sheer sitcom energy of the whole thing would be glorious...

Could this show be renewed for Seasons 5-8?

[brucejoel99]

Does anyone know if the GOP still plans to block Haaland for Interior?

Didn't even realize there was a GOP plan to block her. Not like it even matters anymore, though.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1359165038683111429

We get it Glenn, you wanna call Bernie a cuck. Cope harder & cry more.

[brucejoel99]

Can't Biden just use vacancy appointments to fill these positions temporarily? His predecessor sure got a lot of mileage out of that.

Yeah, that's what he's been doing while awaiting confirmations. The acting A.G. right now is a career official, for instance.

[brucejoel99]

So Bernie himself took the shot in the end. Glenn Greenwald in shambles:

https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/1359547693551484928

[brucejoel99]

It's certainly not the biggest deal in US politics right now, but I'll lose some respect for Sanders if he votes for her confirmation. No one who stoops to drunken bullying on social media belongs in Joe Biden's Cabinet and that alone would make the failure of her confirmation a worthy message to other Beltway types.

Of course, there's the flip-side of that argument: that - for whatever reason, in Biden's opinion - she's perhaps the best person for the job in spite of her past stupid behavior on Twitter. Certainly not an argument I'd personally subscribe to, but it could be made (& indeed, it's what I would've expected the White House & Democratic Senators to argue were her confirmation prospects actually in any serious jeopardy).

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1362198860974686211

She was a deputy director there during the Obama years, so I'm sure she's well-suited for the role.

[brucejoel99]

Like I've previously pointed out, though, the man has never cast a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line over the course of his nearly 10 years in the Senate. That's just not changing now.

well this aged well. Any comment?

Well, last I checked, I missed the part where he's confirmed to be casting a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line by taking this stand, so my comment would be to f**king wait:

Remember guys, Manchin literally never votes against the party line when it matters, and it's stupid and naive to think that he will. I'm sure that he's only doing this because he knows there are loads of Republicans to pad the margin.

(This is sarcastic in case you can't tell)

Y'all, can we calm the f**k down for literally 5 seconds & just wait & see how this plays out a bit more. It's entirely possible that he's been told Tanden has at least 1 Republican vote (so, literally pick 1 of your Romneys, Murkowskis, Collins', etc.) & that this is therefore not a time where his vote actually matters. But thank you for your failed attempt at a burn, though, very cool!

[brucejoel99]

Like I've previously pointed out, though, the man has never cast a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line over the course of his nearly 10 years in the Senate. That's just not changing now.

well this aged well. Any comment?

Well, last I checked, I missed the part where he's confirmed to be casting a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line by taking this stand, so my comment would be to f**king wait:

Remember guys, Manchin literally never votes against the party line when it matters, and it's stupid and naive to think that he will. I'm sure that he's only doing this because he knows there are loads of Republicans to pad the margin.

(This is sarcastic in case you can't tell)

Y'all, can we calm the f**k down for literally 5 seconds & just wait & see how this plays out a bit more. It's entirely possible that he's been told Tanden has at least 1 Republican vote (so, literally pick 1 of your Romneys, Murkowskis, Collins', etc.) & that this is therefore not a time where his vote actually matters. But thank you for your failed attempt at a burn, though, very cool!

Maybe (I highly doubt it), but I do note that Manchin is announcing this ahead of any R publicly saying they're a yes.

The problem with Manchin is that we should not have to get down on our knees and beg Murkowski (here) or the Budget Committee (in the case of the budget amendments that he provided deciding votes for) to cover for his misbehavior. He should know enough to provide the desired result himself.

I'm honestly sick and tired of treating someone who voted with Trump more often than not, voted for 80% of his judges, and already has or plans to cast several deciding votes against the dems in this congress, as a Democrat. We need to kick him out of the caucus.

I was following until the last paragraph. How in God's name would deliberately making McConnell Majority Leader again just to teach Manchin a lesson or whatever be preferable to the current situation?

Seeing the forest for the trees really is just too hard an undertaking for some people. Letting the perfect be the enemy of the good is apparently what matters more, if not all that matters.

[brucejoel99]

Like I've previously pointed out, though, the man has never cast a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line over the course of his nearly 10 years in the Senate. That's just not changing now.

well this aged well. Any comment?

Well, last I checked, I missed the part where he's confirmed to be casting a deciding vote against the Democratic Party line by taking this stand, so my comment would be to f**king wait:

Remember guys, Manchin literally never votes against the party line when it matters, and it's stupid and naive to think that he will. I'm sure that he's only doing this because he knows there are loads of Republicans to pad the margin.

(This is sarcastic in case you can't tell)

Y'all, can we calm the f**k down for literally 5 seconds & just wait & see how this plays out a bit more. It's entirely possible that he's been told Tanden has at least 1 Republican vote (so, literally pick 1 of your Romneys, Murkowskis, Collins', etc.) & that this is therefore not a time where his vote actually matters. But thank you for your failed attempt at a burn, though, very cool!

Maybe (I highly doubt it), but I do note that Manchin is announcing this ahead of any R publicly saying they're a yes.

The problem with Manchin is that we should not have to get down on our knees and beg Murkowski (here) or the Budget Committee (in the case of the budget amendments that he provided deciding votes for) to cover for his misbehavior. He should know enough to provide the desired result himself.

I'm honestly sick and tired of treating someone who voted with Trump more often than not, voted for 80% of his judges, and already has or plans to cast several deciding votes against the dems in this congress, as a Democrat. We need to kick him out of the caucus.

I was following until the last paragraph. How in God's name would deliberately making McConnell Majority Leader again just to teach Manchin a lesson or whatever be preferable to the current situation?

This Manchin majority simply isn't worth it. The biden nominees that have been confirmed would have been confirmed with or without his support, and he continually shows a lukewarm at best attitude toward the democratic agenda, including on covid related matters. At least with McConnell we'd know for sure that dem wins would be few, instead of getting all this false hope from closeted republican Joe Manchin.

Ok, this might objectively take the cake for being the worst take - on anything, ever - that I've ever seen on this forum.

[brucejoel99]

I'm honestly sick and tired of treating someone who voted with Trump more often than not, voted for 80% of his judges, and already has or plans to cast several deciding votes against the dems in this congress, as a Democrat. We need to kick him out of the caucus.

Sounds like a good way to ensure McConnell can block Covid relief and prevent Breyer from retiring.

Oh, haven't you heard!? Joe Manchin's just itching to kill the COVID relief stimulus package (that no legitimate Republican even supports) even though he's already come out in support of it, AND then he's gonna personally shoot Justice Breyer with his own NRA-provided shotgun just to open up his seat & save it for when McConnell returns to the majority leadership. Of course, even though Manchin is obviously a secret Republican at heart, he's doing all of this without switching parties & actually putting McConnell in charge so he can do all of these things - & more - that Manchin has made very clear in public that he doesn't actually wanna do. It almost makes TOO MUCH sense!!

[brucejoel99]

Every new administration has a nominee that goes down in flames. Trump had the Carls Jr. guy. Obama had Judd Gregg. Bush had Linda Chavez.

It happens.

Gregg withdrew over unsolvable differences with the administration: https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/12/gregg.nomination/index.html

No senator aside from himself ultimately doomed his nomination.

Yes. I remember it being rather embarrassing for the new administration. Hence the "going down in flames" part.

And it wasn't just Gregg, Obama was actually forced to try & put out a (relative) sh*tton of nomination flames at this point in his administration, what with Daschle withdrawing his HHS nomination over income tax issues & Richardson withdrawing his Commerce nomination over a corruption probe back in NM.

[brucejoel99]

I'm honestly sick and tired of treating someone who voted with Trump more often than not, voted for 80% of his judges, and already has or plans to cast several deciding votes against the dems in this congress, as a Democrat. We need to kick him out of the caucus.

Sounds like a good way to ensure McConnell can block Covid relief and prevent Breyer from retiring.

Oh, haven't you heard!? Joe Manchin's just itching to kill the COVID relief stimulus package (that no legitimate Republican even supports) even though he's already come out in support of it, AND then he's gonna personally shoot Justice Breyer with his own NRA-provided shotgun just to open up his seat & save it for when McConnell returns to the majority leadership. Of course, even though Manchin is obviously a secret Republican at heart, he's doing all of this without switching parties & actually putting McConnell in charge so he can do all of these things - & more - that Manchin has made very clear in public that he doesn't actually wanna do. It almost makes TOO MUCH sense!!

Well if we can't kick him out, then we need to take away his committee chairmanship. This treachery should not go unpunished.

23,978 posts on a political forum & you don't know how politics works. It's honestly a shame, really.

[brucejoel99]

Bloomberg is reporting that Rahm Emanuel is high on the list to be appointed as U.S. Ambassador to China by Biden.

I might have to start taking the "Sleepy Joe" conspiracies more seriously if this reporting is true.

But no, for real, Biden is smarter than that (I think/hope). Or hopefully, just like earlier Rahm rumors - this one isn't true.

Given Biden's particular foreign policy acumen, I'm gonna go out on a limb here & say that hell will freeze over before he goes for Rahm over the other reported candidate in contention, Nicholas Burns, who's an actual legitimate diplomat, having been a senior career Foreign Service officer & all. But if he f**ks up (because bringing Rahm back in any capacity would be an ultimate f**k-up) & proves me wrong by actually choosing Rahm, then I'll gladly eat my hat Paddy Ashdown-style.

[brucejoel99]

Scratch China, Rahm's being eyed for Japan now:

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/539680-biden-seems-set-to-pick-fight-over-rahm-emanuel

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appears poised to take on a high-profile ambassadorship for President Biden, a step likely to trigger contention with progressives who've balked at him taking a Cabinet role.

Emanuel is the front-runner to be Biden's nominee as ambassador to Japan, sources familiar with the matter told The Hill.

He's also being considered for the post in China, but sources said Japan is the more likely landing spot for former President Obama's chief of staff. Former State Department official Nicholas Burns is the likely front-runner to end up in Beijing.

[...]

This... actually doesn't anger me at all compared to what would be an actual high-stakes ambassadorship like China, but I'm more than happy to pretend that it does if it makes it more likely. Like, how are we supposed to act here? "Oh no, please don't send Rahm far away on a low-stakes ambassadorship with an allied country where the deputy chief of mission will probably just be the one who's gonna run our embassy's day-to-day operations anyway & from where he can't actually influence policy or constantly be a whisperer in the ears of White House senior staff or Democratic leadership!!"

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/BreakingDefense/status/1363950066810171396

Look at how they honored my boy.

[brucejoel99]

Isn't Bill Nelson a little bit too old to be NASA Administrator?

What does age have to do with anything when he has more than enough experience - basically being Capitol Hill's NASA liaison for 3 decades - to do the job well, especially when much of the job as Administrator involves just fighting Congress for the funding that your divisions want & need?

In any event, he's literally the same age as the President, so if a 78-year-old can be Commander-in-Chief, I see no reason why one can't be NASA Administrator too.

[brucejoel99]

Isn't Bill Nelson a little bit too old to be NASA Administrator?

What does age have to do with anything when he has more than enough experience - basically being Capitol Hill's NASA liaison for 3 decades - to do the job well, especially when much of the job as Administrator involves just fighting Congress for the funding that your divisions want & need?

In any event, he's literally the same age as the President, so if a 78-year-old can be Commander-in-Chief, I see no reason why one can't be NASA Administrator too.

LOL, calm down there buddy. I'm not opposed to Bill Nelson being NASA administrator but I think that you could find someone with similar knowledge as Nelson but younger.

I am perfectly calm? Why are you so quick to presume that this was an attack of some sort or something? I was simply pointing out that age shouldn't really have anything to do with the proposed nomination here.

And in any event, no, I don't believe you could find somebody younger than Bill Nelson who has the same mix of congressional & NASA-based knowledge that would allow him to both fight with Congress for the funding that they want while not actively trying to f**k with NASA & their own undertakings like Bridenstine did (& that - inherently speaking - only he has, since only he was NASA's Capitol Hill go-to for 3 decades).

Would Nelson be the first NASA Administrator who has actually been to space?  I haven't kept up with NASA that much over the last few years.

No, Charles Bolden - the NASA administrator under President Obama - was a former astronaut who has been in space before.

And in addition to Bolden, who flew up on 4 Space Shuttle missions from the mid-80's through the mid-90's, there were also W.'s 2nd-term administrator Frederick Gregory, who flew up on 3 Shuttle missions from the mid-'80s through the early-'90s, & Poppy Bush's administrator Richard Truly, who went up on the 2nd & 8th Shuttle missions in the early-'80s.

[brucejoel99]

Would Nelson be the first NASA Administrator who has actually been to space?  I haven't kept up with NASA that much over the last few years.

No, Charles Bolden - the NASA administrator under President Obama - was a former astronaut who has been in space before.

And in addition to Bolden, who flew up on 4 Space Shuttle missions from the mid-80's through the mid-90's, there were also W.'s 2nd-term administrator Frederick Gregory, who flew up on 3 Shuttle missions from the mid-'80s through the early-'90s, & Poppy Bush's administrator Richard Truly, who went up on the 2nd & 8th Shuttle missions in the early-'80s.

Aargh, can't believe I didn't remember Dick Truly was a former administrator.  I worked at the Cape at the time of his two Shuttle missions.

[brucejoel99]

Bernie just voted NO on Vilsack's nomination. Interesting.

Eh, not really: Vilsack's gonna be overwhelmingly confirmed anyway, so Bernie has the leeway to be Bernie here.

[brucejoel99]

During today's session:

https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1364314498052587520

If only she could talk as progressively as she dresses.

[brucejoel99]

Also, only tangentially related but what happened to her right hand? It looks like she's wearing a wrist brace & 4 finger braces. Hope everything's okay.

[brucejoel99]

What exactly was the problem with Vilsack? I mean the opposition to him in this forum. Did he do a poor job during the Obama Admin?

https://mobile.twitter.com/politico/status/1336845656288333824

His ties to Monsanto are also a problem. Then, there's the fact that he was already AgSec for 8 years, did he really need to be re-nominated? Biden should have chose someone else.

I understand policy-based concerns & the like being the potential impetus for opposing a nominee, & those are totally fair, but is the bolded really a fair concern? If the President believes that they did a good job & they obviously only previously left the job because the White House had changed hands, then why shouldn't it be fair for the President to put them back in the role?

[brucejoel99]

What exactly was the problem with Vilsack? I mean the opposition to him in this forum. Did he do a poor job during the Obama Admin?

https://mobile.twitter.com/politico/status/1336845656288333824

His ties to Monsanto are also a problem. Then, there's the fact that he was already AgSec for 8 years, did he really need to be re-nominated? Biden should have chose someone else.

I understand policy-based concerns & the like being the potential impetus for opposing a nominee, & those are totally fair, but is the bolded really a fair concern? If the President believes that they did a good job & they obviously only previously left the job because the White House had changed hands, then why shouldn't it be fair for the President to put them back in the role?

Yes. Especially when Biden said that he would have a "Cabinet that looks like America". Did he have to re-nominate his "friend" when he could have nominate someone new? It makes it even worse because according to Biden, Vilsack didn't want to be AgSec again but Biden begged him to accept - and Vilsack relented.

Furthermore, Biden didn't nominate an AAPI person to be a Cabinet Secretary. An Asian AgSec would have been a historic first.

Wanting a(n even more) diverse cabinet is yet another fair concern, yes, but that doesn't exactly answer my question, as it's not the same thing as one of the cons of a nominee merely being that they already held the job.

[brucejoel99]

I was under the impression Vilsack hated being Agriculture Secretary and Biden had to beg him to take the position a second time.

IIRC, what he hated was being given & having nothing to do as Ag. Sec. the 1st time around, which led to him even threatening to resign 'til Obama put him in charge of rural opioid issues. This time around, I'm sure Biden promised him that having nothing to do wouldn't be the case, not least because the USDA has a major role to play as part of the COVID relief apparatus, what with their food assistance expansion, rural housing programs, farm loan debt assistance, rural vaccinations, farm rescue payment program, etc.