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

[Sir Mohamed]

Harris will resign her Senate seat tomorrow and swear in Warnoff and Padilla on Wednesday.

Never heard of that Warnoff dude

[Sir Mohamed]

I think Sanders voted for the waiver because Austin is less hawkish than potential replacements. Who knows, if his nomination failed, Biden may have ended up with Flournoy. I'm glad she wasn't picked due to ties to the defense industry and her hawkishness. Sanders for sure knew that and Austin was clearly the better alternative.

[Sir Mohamed]

Do we know what time Yellen's floor vote is today?

Around 5:30 pm EST.

How many votes is she expected to get? I think more than 80 is ensured, possibly over 90.

[Sir Mohamed]

On a completely different note, while Bernie isn’t gonna sink any Biden nominees (Bernie’s generally been a team player, especially in recent years), I just realized that there might be a silver lining for the Tanden haters on Atlas.  Bernie isn’t gonna kill Tanden’s nomination,* but what he could do if he wanted to stick it to her somehow, he still has another (more practical) arrow in his quiver.  

Bernie could privately tell Biden’s team that the Budget Committee will be too busy working on the budget reconciliation/COVID-19 relief plan to hold a confirmation hearing for Tanden until he has a commitment from Biden to go to the mat to support using the nuclear option to overrule the parliamentarian if s/he says reconciliation rules don’t allow it to be used to pass a $15 minimum wage.

*Just like he was never gonna try to sink Raimondo or Buttigieg’s nomination

Since it's questionable Biden's 1.9 trillion rescue package gets 60 votes anyway, wouldn't Sanders usig reconciliation to make sure it passes be helpful to Biden anyway? As for the minimum wage, Biden himself supports 15$ now. Just hope that takes effect rather sooner than later.

[Sir Mohamed]

I’m no fan of Neera Tanden, but Joe Manchin voting to confirm Sessions and Kavanaugh but not Tanden or (possibly) Haaland has a very uncomfortable and blatant through line.

Yup, that's ridiculous. I think he wants to distinguish himself from his party, given WV's partisan lean (and shift). Not that I expect him to be in congress beyond January 3, 2025 anyway.

[Sir Mohamed]

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?

[Sir Mohamed]

Mitch McConnell says he will vote for Merrick Garland to be the next Attorney General

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will vote to confirm Merrick Garland as the next attorney general, five years after refusing to act on Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court.


A McConnell spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that the Kentucky Republican supports President Biden's pick to lead the Justice Department. Politico first reported his decision on Tuesday.

Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama in 2016, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. McConnell refused to consider Garland's nomination, arguing that the Senate should not fill a Supreme Court seat during an election year, and instead let the American people decide. After the GOP won the White House, the Republican-controlled Senate filled the vacant seat with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017, the first of three justices nominated to the bench by former President Donald Trump.

Well, this is interesting. I would thought McConnell would be a no vote on this one, given his, like most Republicans, loyal support of Trump. In fact, I thought the Republicans would be unanimously against anyone Biden nominated to the Justice Department.

Didn't McConnell actually vote for most of Biden's nominees so far?

[Sir Mohamed]

GOPers complaining about Tanden's Tweets finally try to Be Best.

[Sir Mohamed]

Has Biden nominated any ambassadors already? Ambassadorships to key allies like Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan or Israel should be filled asap.

[Sir Mohamed]

Will Garland's replacement be Biden's 1st federal judge nominee? I don't recall him making any nominations so far.

[Sir Mohamed]

I hope you're happy with this annoying fake moderate, ME voters.

[Sir Mohamed]

President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a diverse slate of 11 judicial nominees, including three African American women for Circuit Court vacancies and a candidate who, if confirmed, would be the first Muslim federal judge in US history.

One nominee Biden announced Tuesday is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is picked to fill the seat of Merrick Garland on a powerful DC-based appellate court that is also a breeding ground for potential Supreme Court nominees.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/30/politics/joe-biden-judicial-nominees/index.html

It's difficult to believe that we've never had a single Muslim federal judge before, especially given that we've had a few Hindu and even Zoroastrian ones.

Yup, and I'm really exicted for this nomination. That said, religion, gender, sexual orientation or racial identity is secondary to me at best. Qualification and integrity are more important, but it's refreshing Biden making such diverse nominations to administration and judidical appointees.

[Sir Mohamed]

Any news on Eric Lander?

[Sir Mohamed]

Are there any updates on Julie Su? Is Biden just going to keep as acting secretary till the election?