A Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Senate Confirmation Process
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Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate confirmation processis badly broken. In fact it is a disgrace. It needs to be fixed.There is no time like the present.
To appreciate the problem, let’s begin with an example. Itis September 2010. The universally respected and admired JackLew, nominated by President Barack Obama in July for the crucialposition of director of the Office of Management and Budget,can’t get a floor vote for Senate confirmation. The reason?Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, has placed a“hold” on his nomination -- the equivalent of a filibuster,preventing a vote unless the Senate can muster a two-thirdsmajority (and schedule plenty of time for debate).