NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate on Thursday [8-3-17] cleared the way for dozens of Trump administration nominees across the government to take office, allowing the administration to round out its top staff and regulatory commissions and advance its agenda on a broad range of issues.
Top officials at the State, Justice, Commerce, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments were among the 66 nominees confirmed for their posts, with some nominees waiting months since they were first nominated. The group also included nominees to several unfilled seats on regulatory boards, including the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Senate Democrats had slowed the process of confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees as a way to protest the Republican strategy for advancing a GOP-written health bill. The health legislation, which was written by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and other Republicans behind closed doors with no Democratic input and no committee hearings, collapsed last week in the Senate.”
-Kate Davidson and Siobhan Hughes, “Senate Confirms Slew of Trump Administration Nominees,” The Walls Street Journal online, Aug. 4, 2017 11:14am