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

[Torrain]

So, while we wait for more votes, I thought I would visualise some of the confirmation votes.
Blue = two yes votes
Yellow = one yes, one no/abstention
Red = two no votes

I started off thinking about Buttigieg, wondering whether there were cultural factors at play in his 'no' votes, beyond the Trump loyalist faction. As expected Buttigieg did poorly in AL, (one of the last states with majority opposition to SSM), TN, but intriguingly, gained the votes of vocal homophobes like Sen. Inhofe.

Buttigieg - Transportation:

[Torrain]

Austin - Defence:

[Torrain]

Haines - DNI:

[Meatball Ron]

Is there a way to differentiate between No votes and Abstentions (with another color) on these maps? It's a bit misleading in its current format.

[Meatball Ron]

Barring some big revelation, the Dems should muscle through Haaland and Tanden if any serious opposition is put up.

They will.

This.  Also, Haaland and (to a somewhat lesser degree) Becerra were always going to be the most contentious picks.  Tanden might not have been confirmed by a Republican Senate, but I don’t think Republicans are as invested in opposing her.  They absolutely despise Haaland though, that’s for sure.

Err, what's the logic here? I got the sense that Tanden, Becerra, and maybe Mayorkas were going to have the toughest time in a GOP Senate. McConnell alluded to as much in an article. I don't think Tanden will get a single GOP vote. What do you think is their issue with Haaland? Haven't really read anything about that; the delay with her is about preserving House majority, not anything around the number of votes.

[Torrain]

Mayorkas - DHS:

[Torrain]

Is there a way to differentiate between No votes and Abstentions (with another color) on these maps? It's a bit misleading in its current format.

I'm afraid I can't find a work-around with the Atlas map format - I'll look into other visual tools after the current batch is done. Something like the 538 tool for Senate seats would be great.

I appreciate it's misleading, but the two-seat situation makes it weirdly hard to distinguish them. Sorry

[Torrain]

Yellen - Treasury:

[Torrain]

Blinken - State:

[Torrain]

Thanks for putting up with my wall of text. To add one final post, I'd just like to add a few observations:

- Sen. Moore Capito seems to be one of the most bipartisan voters, either supporting or abstaining on every appointee so far.

- Moderate Hero Sen. Romney seems to be a big fan of the Biden cabinet so far.

- Florida has voted to the right of West Virginia, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Mississippi so far.

- Buttigieg seems to be the only candidate whose opposition is constrained to the South, which is interesting. Social conservativism, or just anxious about his approach to infrastructure?

- Sen. Hyde-Smith, noted fan of the Confederacy, has voted for ever nominee except Austin and Mayorkas, the only two minority appointees

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Austin - Defence:

Austin was confirmed 93-2. Are you counting Senators who didn't vote as Nays?

[Meatball Ron]

Is there a way to differentiate between No votes and Abstentions (with another color) on these maps? It's a bit misleading in its current format.

I'm afraid I can't find a work-around with the Atlas map format - I'll look into other visual tools after the current batch is done. Something like the 538 tool for Senate seats would be great.

I appreciate it's misleading, but the two-seat situation makes it weirdly hard to distinguish them. Sorry

Totally makes sense - thanks so much for making these!

[AndyHogan14]

UPDATED SCHEDULE:
February 8
5:30pm • McDonough (Senate Vote)

February 9
9:15am • Tanden (hearing; HSGAC)

February 10
9:15am • Tanden (hearing; Budget)

February 11
10:00am • Walsh/Cardona (Committee Vote)

Cardona's committee vote has been added to the schedule, it'll be 2/11 at 10am. Thomas-Greenfield was also advanced out of committee (18-4) as was Fudge (17-7) and Rouse (24-0). EDIT: Walsh will also get his committee vote on 2/11.

***

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

Awaiting Full Senate Vote
McDonough (2/8), Vilsack (TBA), Raimondo (TBA), Fudge (TBA), Granholm (TBA), Thomas-Greenfield (TBA), Rouse (TBA)

Awaiting Committee Vote
Walsh (2/11), Cardona (2/11), Guzman (TBA), Regan (TBA)

Awaiting Committee Hearing
Tanden (2/9-10)

Committee Hearings Not Yet Scheduled
Garland, Haaland, Becerra, Tai, Lander

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

[Antonio the Sixth]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Didn't Republicans significantly reduce that time while they were confirming judges?

[AndyHogan14]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Shouldn't Schumer just file cloture anyway? Sure, it may take a while for the 30 hours to run out, but they could probably get a few cabinet positions filled faster than if they wait until after the impeachment trial/budget resolution are taken care of.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Didn't Republicans significantly reduce that time while they were confirming judges?

The McConnell 2019 precedent doesn't apply to the Cabinet, Circuit Court, or Supreme Court. It's just for lower-level administration appointments and District Judges.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Didn't Republicans significantly reduce that time while they were confirming judges?

The McConnell 2019 precedent doesn't apply to the Cabinet, Circuit Court, or Supreme Court. It's just for lower-level administration appointments and District Judges.

How convenient.

[Antonio the Sixth]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Didn't Republicans significantly reduce that time while they were confirming judges?

The McConnell 2019 precedent doesn't apply to the Cabinet, Circuit Court, or Supreme Court. It's just for lower-level administration appointments and District Judges.

How convenient.

Of course, it would just take 50 votes to change that...

[NewYorkExpress]

Ted Cruz is blocking a vote on Gina Raimondo's nomination to be Commerce Secretary because she hasn't clarified her stance on Huawei.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday formally placed a hold on the Senate voting on the nomination of Gina Raimondo, President Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary, due to concerns Raimondo has not clarified her stance on Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

“I’ll lift the hold when the Biden admin commits to keep the massive Chinese Communist Party spy operation Huawei on the Entity List,” Cruz tweeted in response to a report from Bloomberg Business that he had blocked a vote on Raimondo.

Cruz’s block comes after over a week of criticism from both House and Senate Republicans of Raimondo’s comments on Huawei during her confirmation hearing.


The Commerce Department under the Trump administration added Huawei, one of the largest 5G equipment manufacturers in the world, to its “entity list,” effectively blacklisting the company over concerns it posed an espionage threat due to ties to the Chinese government.

Raimondo made clear that if confirmed, she would "review the policy, consult with you, consult with industry, consult with our allies, and make an assessment as to what’s best for American national and economic security,” but did not specifically commit to keeping Huawei on the entity list when Cruz questioned her about it during her confirmation hearing.

https://twitter.com/DanielPFlatley/status/1357457437863915522

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

McConnell has said he won't consent to any floor votes while the Senate is considering the budget resolution or impeachment. (Yes, Schumer can file cloture, but the 30 hour clock on that pauses if the Senate debates something else unless there is UC to keep the clock running) So it will be some time before we see anyone else confirmed.

Didn't Republicans significantly reduce that time while they were confirming judges?

The McConnell 2019 precedent doesn't apply to the Cabinet, Circuit Court, or Supreme Court. It's just for lower-level administration appointments and District Judges.

How convenient.

Of course, it would just take 50 votes to change that...

This, but idk if Dems have the votes to do that.  I think this is more like the OR situation.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The Fudge and Haaland nominations being held up for a few weeks might be a blessing in disguise in terms of Pelosi shepherding the budget bill through the narrow House majority. Hopefully they can still get committee votes on everyone sooner rather than later, though.

[AndyHogan14]

https://twitter.com/SenateCloakroom/status/1357639709133053952?s=20

EDIT: Regan's committee vote has been scheduled for tomorrow (2/9) at 10am.

[AndyHogan14]

Voting has begun on Denis McDonough's confirmation to be VA Secretary.

EDIT: McDonough was easily confirmed, 87-7. The nays were Cotton, Ernst, Hagerty, Hawley, Marshall, Scott (FL), and Cruz. Those not voting were Barrasso, Burr, Inhofe, Moran, Paul, and Toomey.

[AndyHogan14]

UPDATED SCHEDULE:
February 9
9:15am • Tanden (Hearing; HSGAC)
10:00am • Regan (Committee Vote; EPW)

February 10
9:15am • Tanden (Hearing; Budget)

February 11
10:00am • Walsh/Cardona (Committee Vote; HELP)

McDonough was easily confirmed, 87-7 today (2/8). There are also committee hearings scheduled for Tanden and committee votes for Regan, Walsh, and Cardona. With the impeachment trial starting tomorrow, we may see some hearings scheduled, but are likely not going to be seeing anyone advanced beyond a committee vote anytime soon.

EDIT: Kathleen Holland Hicks was just confirmed as Deputy Secretary of Defense by a voice vote (of just Schumer). I wasn't keeping track of her nomination because the Deputy Secretary of Defense isn't a cabinet-level position, but I happened to hear it as I had C-SPAN on in the background so I figured I would add it here.

***

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

Awaiting Full Senate Vote
Vilsack (TBA), Raimondo (TBA), Fudge (TBA), Granholm (TBA), Thomas-Greenfield (TBA), Rouse (TBA)

Awaiting Committee Vote
Regan (2/9), Walsh (2/11), Cardona (2/11), Guzman (TBA)

Awaiting Committee Hearing
Tanden (2/9-10)

Committee Hearings Not Yet Scheduled
Garland, Haaland, Becerra, Tai, Lander