GOP/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A throng of Republican senators is holding up the confirmations of some of President Donald Trump’s nominees — even as he continues to blame the logjam on Democratic ‘obstruction.’
At least 11 Republican senators in recent months have disclosed they’re blocking votes on nominees for agencies including the Energy, Agriculture, State, Homeland Security and Justice departments. The vast majority of those delays remain in place while the lawmakers demand concessions on issues such as ethanol regulations, marijuana, disaster funding and nuclear waste.
Such legislative roadblocks are not unusual in themselves: Senators of both parties frequently use whatever leverage they have to extract policy concessions from the executive branch. But the number coming from the GOP side is notable, especially as senior Republicans have raised the possibility of changing the Senate’s rules to make it harder for Democrats to block Trump’s appointees. And the delays are worsening a leadership shortage at many agencies, which have already been stretched by Trump’s slowness to nominate people for senior positions.
Even some fellow Republicans are starting to gripe about the GOP-caused delays… But because the Senate operates almost entirely on unanimous consent, a single senator can still threaten to significantly gum up the procedural works if his or her hold is not honored. And with Republicans occupying only 51 seats, a GOP senator’s objection carries even more weight.
In practice, a senator looking to prevent a vote only has to announce — or quietly make it known — that he or she will not consent to fast-tracking a nominee, forcing leadership to burn multiple days to bring up the matter… Even more Republicans may be anonymously blocking nominees.”
-Anthony Adragna, “GOP friendly fire imperils Trump nominees,” Politico, Feb. 8, 2018 05:03am