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

[brucejoel99]

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

Look at how they honored my boy.

[BudgieForce]

Deb Haaland released her statement for tommorows hearing. It definitely reads like something meant to calm fears of Haaland being a "climate extremist". Hopefully that's enough for Manchin.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

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

[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.

[GeorgiaModerate]

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.

[AndyHogan14]

UPDATED SCHEDULE:
February 23
9:30am • Garland (Hearing; Judiciary • Day 2)
9:30am • Haaland (Hearing; Energy)
10:00am • Becerra (Hearing; HELP)
11:30am • Thomas-Greenfield (Senate Vote; Sec. Council)
Thomas-Greenfield (Cloture; Gen. Assembly)*
2:45pm • Vilsack (Senate Vote)
Thomas-Greenfield (Senate Vote; Gen. Assembly)*
*Immediately following the previous vote

February 24
10:00 • Tanden (Committee Vote; HSGAC)
2:30pm • Guzman (Committee Vote; SBE)
TBA • Tanden (Committee Vote; Budget)

February 25
10:00am • Tai (Hearing; Finance)

March 1
TBA • Garland (Committee Vote; Judiciary)

***

Non-Cabinet-Level
Adeyemo (Hearing, 2/23 at 10am)
Burns (Hearing, 2/24 at 10am)
Murthy/Levine (Hearing, 2/25 at 10am)
Gensler/Chopra (Hearing, 3/2 at 10am)

***

Confirmed
Blinken, Yellen, Austin, Buttigieg, McDonough, Mayorkas, Haines

Awaiting Full Senate Vote
Vilsack (2/23), Thomas-Greenfield (2/23), Raimondo (TBA), Fudge (TBA), Granholm (TBA), Walsh (TBA), Cardona (TBA), Rouse (TBA), Regan (TBA)

Awaiting Committee Vote
Guzman (2/24), Garland (3/1), Tanden (2/24; HSGAC), Tanden (2/24; Budget)

Awaiting Committee Hearing
Garland (2/23), Haaland (2/23), Becerra (2/23), Tai (2/25)

Committee Hearings Not Yet Scheduled
Lander

***

So it's down to Murkowski (or some GOP Senators not showing up) to save Tanden at this point...she's hanging on by a thread. Today, Schumer filed cloture for Granholm, but no dates have been set for any votes (he did say that both Granholm and Cardona are next to be confirmed). Thomas-Greenfield's nomination to the UN Security Council was advanced by a 75-20 vote and her final vote for that position will be tomorrow morning at 11:30. Her second post (General Assembly) will have a cloture vote directly following the 11:30am vote with a final vote for that post coming after the Vilsack vote. So, we have four votes tomorrow (albeit for two people), hopefully that is the pace that we will see going forward to break the logjam of committee approved nominees.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

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.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

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.

[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.

[GeorgiaModerate]

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.

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]

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.

[Ferguson97]

Go off King

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1363989112684961798

[GeorgiaModerate]

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.

In the late 70's and early 80's, I worked for an aerospace/defense contractor that was a subcontractor for the development and operation of the Air Force's Eastern Test Range, which supports launches at the Cape/KSC along with a few other places (NASA's Wallops Island and ESA's Kourou launch center are the ones I recall offhand).  I worked on dozens of missile launches during those years; most were unmanned, of course, but I was there for the first eight Shuttle flights.  In fact STS-8 was my very last launch, as I moved on to another project at a different military base a few days later.

Working at the Cape in those days was an extraordinary experience, and is something I'm extremely glad to have been part of.  But there's no way I would want to go back to it at my age (way too stressful).

[Lief 🗽]

Go off King

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1363989112684961798

God, imagine how great this country would be if all politicians at all levels of state and federal government were replaced with Jon Tester.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Go off King

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1363989112684961798

Tanden needs to be worried about Sinema. Sinema can the deal the death blow to Tanden's nomination. She's been silent so far.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

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).

Well, I apologize for assuming.

Anyways, I didn't literally mean the same expertise as Nelson. I just meant a person with a deep knowledge of NASA and aeronautics.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Go off King

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1363989112684961798

Tanden needs to be worried about Sinema. Sinema can the deal the death blow to Tanden's nomination. She's been silent so far.

Apparently Murkowski is still undecided.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1364007693392961539
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1364007918283194371
Manchin stands firm on his NO vote decision.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Go off King

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1363989112684961798

Tanden needs to be worried about Sinema. Sinema can the deal the death blow to Tanden's nomination. She's been silent so far.

I'd guess Murkowski is more likely to reject Tanden than Sanders or Sinema and (assuming she doesn't have an ace up her sleeve in the form of another Republican Senator), she needs all three.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

I'd guess Murkowski is more likely to reject Tanden than Sanders or Sinema and (assuming she doesn't have an ace up her sleeve in the form of another Republican Senator), she needs all three.

Tanden is pretty much out of options. Manchin, Collins, Romney & Portman are all NO votes. Murkowski is the only wild card but I doubt that she will vote in favor of Tanden's nomination.

[BudgieForce]

I'd rather Murkowski stick her neck out for Haaland and not Tanden. Atleast with Tanden, Biden can find her another spot in the administration that doesn't need a senate confirmation.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

https://twitter.com/usatodayDC/status/1363911701163352065

Tom, typically the dogwhistles are intended to go over the heads of the liberals.

The implication behind Cotton's question is that supporting "racial equity" as opposed to "racial equality" means discrimination but woke.   Just in case that wasn't clear from the snippet or people aren't familiar with the debate on this.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

https://twitter.com/usatodayDC/status/1363911701163352065

Tom, typically the dogwhistles are intended to go over the heads of the liberals.

The implication behind Cotton's question is that supporting "racial equity" as opposed to "racial equality" means discrimination but woke.   Just in case that wasn't clear from the snippet or people aren't familiar with the debate on this.

No, racial equity is "when institutions give equal opportunities to people of all races. In other words, the structures, systems, practices and cultural narratives in society provide true situational fairness and equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their ethnicity or race". Currently, that is not the case in American society.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

https://twitter.com/usatodayDC/status/1363911701163352065

Tom, typically the dogwhistles are intended to go over the heads of the liberals.

The implication behind Cotton's question is that supporting "racial equity" as opposed to "racial equality" means discrimination but woke.   Just in case that wasn't clear from the snippet or people aren't familiar with the debate on this.

No, racial equity is "when institutions give equal opportunities to people of all races. In other words, the structures, systems, practices and cultural narratives in society provide true situational fairness and equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their ethnicity or race". Currently, that is not the case in American society.

I hardly think either of these are neutral definitions of the term.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

I hardly think either of these are neutral definitions of the term.

WDYM?