Greg Sargent argues that 3 cloture votes today will give us a good indication as to whether this deal will really set up a new status quo-or whether after the GOP allows votes on the agreed upon nominees, it will be business as usual:
"The Senate has a cloture vote scheduled later today for James Comey, President Obama’s pick to head the FBI. But that’s not all. Also up this week: those nominations to the National Labor Relations Board, which were a big part of the showdown over executive-branch nominations – and nominees for ambassador to the United Nations and head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/07/29/and-now-we-find-out-will-the-senate-nominations-deal-hold/
He sees the vote for the head of ATF as particularly important as no nominee has every been concerned since the NRA succeeded in making this position subject to confimration in 2006.
"That last one is really the first serious test for whether the deal that avoided a nuclear confrontation in the Senate is going to hold for the long term. Todd Jones, if confirmed, would be the first confirmed ATF director ever; since the National Rifle Association succeeded in making the position subject to Senate confirmation, that hasn’t happened. Which means ATF has had acting directors since 2006. "
So Sargent thinks that if the ATF director is confirmed, the deal is for real. He does make the point that the GOP by abusing the filibuster so much in recent years has totally cheapened it-in the past, there could be legitimate reasons to want to withhold cloture on an executive nominee:
"Even if it holds, the deal still isn’t where the Senate should go on executive-branch nominations. Rather than de facto majority confirmation dependent on a small group of Republicans voting against their party on cloture votes, a far better plan is to just make cloture for executive-branch posts possible by simple majority by rule. The advantage for the Senate can be seen in Comey’s nomination today. Ordinarily (that is, before Republicans decided to impose a 60-vote requirement for confirmation back in January 2009), the confirmation process could be used to really put some pressure on the FBI — and more generally, on the administration. But because the context for every nomination is the quest for 60, Democrats tend to just line up for cloture (because the principle of defeating partisan obstruction is worth upholding!), while the Republican civil-liberties caucus has no leverage since its members are automatic no votes no matter what."
It's just another example of how the Senate has become totally dysfunctional in recent years thanks to the GOP principle of obstruction at all costs.
UPDATE: Senate has confirmed Comey for FBI head by a mile-93-1.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/senate-approves-comey-to-head-fbi
As noted above, Sargent thinks the vote for ATF head will be particularly telling.
"The Senate has a cloture vote scheduled later today for James Comey, President Obama’s pick to head the FBI. But that’s not all. Also up this week: those nominations to the National Labor Relations Board, which were a big part of the showdown over executive-branch nominations – and nominees for ambassador to the United Nations and head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/07/29/and-now-we-find-out-will-the-senate-nominations-deal-hold/
He sees the vote for the head of ATF as particularly important as no nominee has every been concerned since the NRA succeeded in making this position subject to confimration in 2006.
"That last one is really the first serious test for whether the deal that avoided a nuclear confrontation in the Senate is going to hold for the long term. Todd Jones, if confirmed, would be the first confirmed ATF director ever; since the National Rifle Association succeeded in making the position subject to Senate confirmation, that hasn’t happened. Which means ATF has had acting directors since 2006. "
So Sargent thinks that if the ATF director is confirmed, the deal is for real. He does make the point that the GOP by abusing the filibuster so much in recent years has totally cheapened it-in the past, there could be legitimate reasons to want to withhold cloture on an executive nominee:
"Even if it holds, the deal still isn’t where the Senate should go on executive-branch nominations. Rather than de facto majority confirmation dependent on a small group of Republicans voting against their party on cloture votes, a far better plan is to just make cloture for executive-branch posts possible by simple majority by rule. The advantage for the Senate can be seen in Comey’s nomination today. Ordinarily (that is, before Republicans decided to impose a 60-vote requirement for confirmation back in January 2009), the confirmation process could be used to really put some pressure on the FBI — and more generally, on the administration. But because the context for every nomination is the quest for 60, Democrats tend to just line up for cloture (because the principle of defeating partisan obstruction is worth upholding!), while the Republican civil-liberties caucus has no leverage since its members are automatic no votes no matter what."
It's just another example of how the Senate has become totally dysfunctional in recent years thanks to the GOP principle of obstruction at all costs.
UPDATE: Senate has confirmed Comey for FBI head by a mile-93-1.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/senate-approves-comey-to-head-fbi
As noted above, Sargent thinks the vote for ATF head will be particularly telling.
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