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

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

GOP doesn't seem too eager to support Mayorkas, but isn't explicitly saying No either.

Doesn’t matter what they think of Mayorkas tbh

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Cotton says he will oppose the Waiver required for Austin, not because of anything to do with Austin himself, but on the principle of the waiver itself. Also says he regrets voting for the Mattis Waiver.

Hypocrisy aside, he’s absolutely right.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Cotton says he will oppose the Waiver required for Austin, not because of anything to do with Austin himself, but on the principle of the waiver itself. Also says he regrets voting for the Mattis Waiver.

Cotton is wrong as usual.

Hopefully Austin is saved and we're not stuck with Flournoy, that would be a disaster.

The waiver is a hill worth dying on, regardless of the nominee’s individual merit, policy views, or qualifications.  That was true with Mattis and it’s true now with Austin.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Who will have the most trouble getting confirmed? Tanden?

Tanden (and maybe also Raimondo) is probably going to have the most trouble.

I could see it being the case where Republicans are unilaterally opposed to Tanden and Manchin/Sinema/Tester potentially also being opposed to her. It might end up being a 50/50 split with Kamala needing to tiebreak. Kamala obviously wouldn't vote against Tanden's nomination.

I kinda want Bernie to sink her nomination as a revenge, but he's too nice and has far too much class to do that.

Sanders will likely have one of the most pro Biden voting records in the Senate so I doubt that

He's too nice for his own good.

Silence, Republican!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Will Bernie block Raimondo?

Not a chance

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Will Bernie block Raimondo?

Not a chance

Ughhh WHY

B/c Bernie isn’t going to waste everyone’s time torpedoing random Biden nominees just to be a pain in the ***; there are important policy issues to deal with and time is very much not on our side. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

AG will be a particularly contentious one imo

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

AG will be a particularly contentious one imo

Merrick Garland?   I know Cornyn at least has come out in favor already.


Most contentious I expect to be Tanden and Beccara.

Lee, Hawley, Cruz, Graham, and Kennedy will try to turn the hearing into a three-ring circus though.  Mayorkas will probably be a close-ish vote; you’ll see demands to investigate the 2020 results, Hunter Biden, and all that nonsense.  I agree about Tenden and Beccara being contentious.  

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

AG will be a particularly contentious one imo

Merrick Garland?   I know Cornyn at least has come out in favor already.


Most contentious I expect to be Tanden and Beccara.

Lee, Hawley, Cruz, Graham, and Kennedy will try to turn the hearing into a three-ring circus though.  Mayorkas will probably be a close-ish vote; you’ll see demands to investigate the 2020 results, Hunter Biden, and all that nonsense.  I agree about Tenden and Beccara being contentious.  

I expect Graham will vote for Garland.

I could see him going either way, but the other four definitely won’t vote for him

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I am surprised that a vote on Mayorkas wasn't scheduled for today. Dem Senators have been saying that there shouldn't be any sort of delay on him, so why delay? They could easily schedule a vote today and get that done.

The power-sharing agreement still needs to be formalized

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

No.

Why not?

Why would they?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Why would they?

Why would they?

Why would they?

Clever. Very clever.

Not every post merits a lengthy response

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

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

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

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.

That depends how committed you think Biden is to overruling the parliamentarian with 50 votes in order to do things like raise the minimum wage to $15. 

It would A) increase pressure on Biden not to let deference to the Byrd Rule or the parliamentarian’s interpretations constrain him (there’s a difference between going to the mat for something and supporting it, but letting the chips fall where they may and Biden lobbying the Senate Democratic Caucus really hard to override the parliamentarian whenever necessary would be worth a lot) and;

B) simultaneously letting Bernie stick it to Tanden by delaying her confirmation hearing until after the COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill is passed (thus at least somewhat limiting her ability to influence the first major piece of legislation during Biden’s administration).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

What's the schedule for upcoming votes and hearings?

Vilsack and McDonough have cleared committee, but no Senate vote has been scheduled. I assume, however, that they will get a vote sometime this week.

Committee hearings/votes are as follows:

February 3
9:30am • Raimondo (vote)
9:45am • Thomas-Greenfield (vote)
10:00am • Cardona (hearing)
10:00am • Granholm (vote)
10:30am • Guzman (hearing)
2:00pm • Regan (hearing)

February 4
10:00am • Walsh (hearing)
2:00pm • Fudge/Rouse (vote)

February 9
9:15am • Tanden (hearing)

So, if the Senate moves quickly, Vilsack, McDonough, Raimondo, Thomas-Greenfield, Granholm, Fudge, and Rouse could all be in place by the end of the week or early next week.

They need to add a hearing and confirmation vote for Garland this week as well even if it means pushing back Walsh’s hearing and/or doing a weekend session.  We need to start staffing up the DOJ ASAP.  Come to think of it, they should just work weekends and hold hearings/votes then until they’ve made up the lost days from the OR nonsense.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

This could be the closest vote although it will still certainly pass.

If I recall, Education Secretary was also the closest nomination fight in the Trump administration. Murkowski and Collins broke ranks and voted no, leaving Pence to break the 50-50 tie - the first Cabinet tiebreaker vote in history if I remember correctly.

Any indication it's heading in that direction, or will Cardona end up picking up enough GOP support to get through comfortably?

Cardona will be confirmed.  If nothing else, Murkowski and Collins will vote for him.  It's an easy #ModerateHero vote.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

This could be the closest vote although it will still certainly pass.

If I recall, Education Secretary was also the closest nomination fight in the Trump administration. Murkowski and Collins broke ranks and voted no, leaving Pence to break the 50-50 tie - the first Cabinet tiebreaker vote in history if I remember correctly.

Any indication it's heading in that direction, or will Cardona end up picking up enough GOP support to get through comfortably?

No theres still a pretty decent chance he gets through at the usual 85-15, just found this interesting.

And yes Devos sadly was the most opposed due to the hate teacher unions have for her

Makes sense - I can never predict when these things are going to erupt into culture-war flashpoints, and when they'll just fade away.

Interesting to see this topic getting airtime though - given how many  midterm strategies come down to moral (or economic) panic, part of me wonders whether this is a preview for next year.

I mean, IIRC Romney is extremely transphobic even by Republican standards, so I'm not surprised to see him whining about Cardona.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

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.  

Again though, staffing DOJ should be the top priority right now Re: Senate confirmations (along with confirming Becerra, William Burns, and Vivek Murthy when there’s time).  Tbh, I don’t think they should hold a final vote on Fudge or Haaland until after the COVID relief bill is passed, lest we risk further trimming our margin in the House. 

Those will be two vacant Safe D seats (in addition to Richmond’s which won’t be filled till late April) and we need all hands on deck for reconciliation in case some random member of the Problem Starters Caucus decides to make trouble by trying to delay or water down the bill at the last minute in order to do some #ModerateHero grandstanding.  I’d rather start filling judgeships, the DOJ leadership, US Attorney’s offices (at least for the main one like DC, the various NY districts, as well as replacing the worst Trump cronies, etc), and important Health and NatSec-related vacancies.  All of these are more pressing to get done before the next recess.

We gotta get moving on this stuff ASAP (unless the rules allow Schumer to unilaterally delay *and* shorten the next recess, at a minimum, the Senate needs to work on Saturdays and Friday evenings either way instead of calling it a day at like 2:00 on Fridays).

[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.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

UPDATED SCHEDULE:
February 22
9:30am • Garland (Hearing; Judiciary • Day 1)
5:30pm • Thomas-Greenfield (Cloture)

February 23
9:30am • Garland (Hearing; Judiciary • Day 2)
9:30am • Haaland (Hearing; Energy)
10:00am • Becerra (Hearing; HELP)
TBA • Vilsack (Senate Vote)

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

March 1
TBA • Garland (Committee Vote; Judiciary)

***

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

Awaiting Full Senate Vote
Vilsack (2/23), Raimondo (TBA), Fudge (TBA), Granholm (TBA), Walsh (TBA), Cardona (TBA), Thomas-Greenfield (Cloture 2/22), Rouse (TBA), Regan (TBA)

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

Awaiting Committee Hearing
Garland (2/22-23), Haaland (2/23), Becerra (2/23)

Committee Hearings Not Yet Scheduled
Tai, Lander

***

Haaland's hearings have been added to the schedule and next Tuesday is shaping up to be a busy day with three important hearings and a full Senate vote on Vilsack. Tanden's Budget committee vote has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Also, while not a major cabinet official, Adewale Adeyemo's committee hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday at 10am.

I’d say Deputy Treasury Secretary is a pretty important job (really deputy Cabinet Secretaries in general).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

UPDATED SCHEDULE:
February 22
9:30am • Garland (Hearing; Judiciary • Day 1)
5:30pm • Thomas-Greenfield (Cloture)

February 23
9:30am • Garland (Hearing; Judiciary • Day 2)
9:30am • Haaland (Hearing; Energy)
10:00am • Becerra (Hearing; HELP)
TBA • Vilsack (Senate Vote)

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

March 1
TBA • Garland (Committee Vote; Judiciary)

***

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

Awaiting Full Senate Vote
Vilsack (2/23), Raimondo (TBA), Fudge (TBA), Granholm (TBA), Walsh (TBA), Cardona (TBA), Thomas-Greenfield (Cloture 2/22), Rouse (TBA), Regan (TBA)

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

Awaiting Committee Hearing
Garland (2/22-23), Haaland (2/23), Becerra (2/23)

Committee Hearings Not Yet Scheduled
Tai, Lander

***

Haaland's hearings have been added to the schedule and next Tuesday is shaping up to be a busy day with three important hearings and a full Senate vote on Vilsack. Tanden's Budget committee vote has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Also, while not a major cabinet official, Adewale Adeyemo's committee hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday at 10am.

What do you peg as the odds that Raimondo is confirmed next week?

Raimondo will be confirmed pretty easily.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Apparently Schumer is probably gonna try to get full Senate votes for Vilsack, Raimondo, Walsh, Cardona, Regan, and possibly Granholm next week in addition to Thomas-Greenfield.  I can’t remember where, but I read this a few days ago.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Rahm being made Ambassador to Japan is fine.  He won’t do any damage there and he was always gonna get something.  Better Ambassador to Japan than Secretary of Transportation, Ambassador to China, or Ambassador to Israel. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I wonder what the odds are that Manchin and Murkowski end up abstaining on Tanden, thus making it so she gets confirmed with a 49-49 vote. Murkowski ended up doing that with Kavanaugh...

IIRC, Murk voted no on Kavanaugh; I don’t think she abstained.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I now accept my accolades

https://mobile.twitter.com/GeoffRBennett/status/1363938574626926602?ref_src=twsr...

wtf i love manchin now

This also makes it a lot more likely that he votes against Haaland btw.