Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings **live commentary thread**

[brucejoel99]

Next Week's list:

Cal. #119 Liburdi to D AZ
Cal. #120 Welte to D ND*
Cal. #203 Hendrix to ND TX*
Cal. #204 Jordan to ED TX
Cal. #205 Pittman to ND TX
Cal. #231 Brown to SD TX
Cal. #232 Starr to ND TX
Cal. #233 Haines to WD PA*
Cal. #326 Brown to ND TX*
Cal. #327 Grimberg to ND GA*
Cal. #345 Pulliam to WD TX
Cal. #350 Pacold to ND IL*
Cal. #352 Seeger to ND IL*
Cal. #364 Shaw to WD PA
Cal. #48 Immergut to D OR*
Cal. #55 Younge to ED PA**
Cal. #344 McElroy to D RI**
Cal. #346 Gallagher to D MD*
Cal. #351 Rowland to ND IL**

* Non-controversial, may be addressed by voice vote
** These three nominees are supported universally or nearly so by the democratic caucus, but will be opposed by a number of conservative republicans. Get ready for some interesting votes.

Stuffing the bench & blocking sound & sensible legislation seems to be all that McConnell is willing to do these days.

[brucejoel99]

Cal. #760 Shelton to the Federal Reserve board of Governors*

* Very close vote possible, Pence may have to break tie

Update:

https://twitter.com/NickTimiraos/status/1328417570890928129

[brucejoel99]

Harris is on the Hill, & apparently Pat Roberts is still undecided on Shelton.

EDIT: Grassley is now in quarantine like Rick Scott, & Alexander remains out of town. With Harris back in town & Roberts undecided, my (bad napkin) math as of right now means the whip count is 49 NAY's, 47 YEA's, & 1 remaining undecided Senator, with 3 unable to vote.

Unless Grassley breaks quarantine, this won't be a tied vote if it happens today. Either Mitch pulls the vote, or Shelton's nomination is (in all likelihood) about to be killed.

[brucejoel99]

Roberts voted YEA. Unless somebody breaks quarantine, preliminary whip count is now 49 NAY's, 48 YEA's.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/StevenTDennis/status/1328799551831109637

[brucejoel99]

What and where is the Kingdom of Eswatini?

For reference: it was formerly known until 2018 (& has still been commonly referred to since) as Swaziland.

[brucejoel99]

Johnson FAILS 39-48 due to republican absences. McConnell is voting No due to procedural reasons only:

[...]

Soskin FAILS by the same 39-48 vote.

I imagine McConnell will just move to have the Senate reconsider them once everybody's back in town, but that's hilarious nonetheless.

[brucejoel99]

Johnson FAILS 39-48 due to republican absences. McConnell is voting No due to procedural reasons only:

[...]

Soskin FAILS by the same 39-48 vote.

I imagine McConnell will just move to have the Senate reconsider them once everybody's back in town, but that's hilarious nonetheless.

McConnell really only has until the end of the Congress on January 3, so idk if there will be another opportunity. Everything resets between congresses (yes, that means the nominees go through committee again too) so confirming anything more than a couple nominees between Jan. 3 and Jan. 20 would be impossible barring Schumer somehow helping speed things up.

Couldn't he move to reconsider as soon as tomorrow, since everybody's supposed to be back in town for the stimulus vote (at least, that's what I saw scrolling through Twitter)?