Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings **live commentary thread**

[Santander]

Congratulations soon-to-be Secretary Ben Carson!

[Santander]

Collins is a no.  https://twitter.com/ByronTau/status/826866181638348800

RINO

[Santander]

Murkowski is NO. So Pence's first tiebreaker it is. https://twitter.com/Phil_Mattingly/status/826870465125765127

Depends on if they confirm Sessions first or not.

They've already said yes on Sessions, as has Manchin.

What I meant is if Sessions is confirmed by the Senate before DeVos there will only be 99 Senators, 50 Nay's 49 Ayes.

McConnell isn't stupid enough to let that happen.

[Santander]

If DeVos ends up being 50-50, with Pence as the tie-breaking vote, surely Republicans know the backlash they're going to face for that...

lol you think they care.

[Santander]

Well, Sessions is confirmed

From grand wizard to the justice department...the Jeff Sessions story

Give me a break.

[Santander]

I like Manchin and Klobuchar. They had to do what they had to do. They're centrists. Sessions is a little crazy, but he is AG. There is nothing that can be done.

Klobuchar is a centrist?

[Santander]

Scott Brown nominated to be Ambassador to New Zealand.

Enjoy the vacation Sen. Brown!

[Santander]

Wait a minute. I thought McConnell lifted the 2/3 requirement for a cloture vote on only Supreme Court judicial nominees. Has he done it for ALL judicial nominees?

That was Dirty Harry Reid's doing.

[Santander]

I like how Schumer always votes "no" when he knows the whip count has the pubs with enough votes to pass. 

That's how floor leaders vote. Their voting scores usually excluded from voting scorecards because they do cast a lot of procedural and party-first partisan votes.

[Santander]

Gingrich passes CLOTURE 75-20:

That's far more bipartisan than I could have imagined.

They're probably looking forward to getting Newt out of the country.

[Santander]

Gingrich passes CLOTURE 75-20:

That's far more bipartisan than I could have imagined.

They're probably looking forward to getting Newt out of the country.

He's going too?

Yep. Ambassador's spouses move with the ambassador. Of course, if he divorces her, he'd have to come back to the US.

Not sure how well that'll sit with the Vatican.

That never stopped Newt before.

[Santander]

Trump expected to tap Kirstjen Nielsen to lead Department of Homeland Security

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-expected-to-tap-kirstjen-nielsen-to-lead-department-of-homeland-security/2017/10/11/21770f8e-aeaf-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

Looks like a solid pick... which makes me question that Trump had much to do with it.

Odd... I was expecting Giuliani or Ray Kelly.

Trump does not have even close to the level of political capital needed to get Giuliani confirmed.

[Santander]

Trump expected to tap Kirstjen Nielsen to lead Department of Homeland Security

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-expected-to-tap-kirstjen-nielsen-to-lead-department-of-homeland-security/2017/10/11/21770f8e-aeaf-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

Looks like a solid pick... which makes me question that Trump had much to do with it.

Odd... I was expecting Giuliani or Ray Kelly.

Trump does not have even close to the level of political capital needed to get Giuliani confirmed.

Some Dems have been willing to vote for Trump's more moderate cabinet nominees. The 8 or so republicans who would vote against Giuliani would be offset by roughly the same amount of Dems voting for Giuliani.

Don't be thick. In the context of Homeland Security, Giuliani is not a "moderate" nominee. Plus, most of the nominees you are referring to are better described as "sane" or "competent" than "moderate".

[Santander]

Rand will vote for Pompeo.

C U C K E D

[Santander]

Richard Grenell just got confirmed 56-42, the months long blocking of his confirmation just go to show the tribal mindset that democrats have when members of groups they feel they own leave the plantation