President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet and Staff Nominees

[lpetrich]

Ariel Eckblad Named Deputy Assistant Secretary in Biden Administration

Ariel P. Eckblad, C'2010, was recently appointed deputy assistant secretary in the Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. The California native leads the Bureau’s efforts to anticipate, prevent, and respond to conflict and instability in Africa and Asia. She also oversees the Bureau’s office of program design, monitoring, and evaluation.

Most recently chief-of-staff in the Office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eckblad (who beat out 5,500 applicants to land that role) had been the National Security Legislative Counsel in the former Senate office of Vice President Kamala Harris. Outside of government, she was the visiting Mullen Seminar of Law professor at Georgetown University.  She has taught negotiation and dispute resolution at the American University Washington College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Harvard Law School.

 

[Swammerdami]

I don't like Tanden, but Manchin is an ass.

Fuck Manchin! Fuck Collins! Fuck Murkowski! All three put political correctness and identity politics over the good of the country.
$5 gas is not far off under Haaland hamstringing oil and gas industry and shutting down pipelines.
View attachment 32193

It's almost $6/gallon in Denmark.
Poor fuckers are going under - can't afford healthcare.
Oh wait - no, that's the US.

The price of gasoline in Thailand is over $4/gallon. This is a country where college graduates may start with a $500 monthly salary, and a majority of the population makes much less than that. It wasn't so long ago that gas was $1/gallon; the price hike has had major effects.

Yet I've never heard a Thai complain about the price of gas (though they routinely offer to buy gas when being driven as a favor). Is whining about the price of gas a peculiarly American practice? Most developed countries have gas more expensive than the U.S.; do they whine about the price and about taxation whenever they fill their tanks?

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that the country that rescued Western Europe from Hitler, that landed a Man on the Moon, is the same country we see today, with right-wing whiners and cruel cowardly cops. I burst out laughing when I read that a founding member of the Oath Keepers was turning state's evidence: I guess the "Oath" (if they even took one) of these big brave freedom-loving Trump lovers didn't include Omertà.

ETA: The final sentence may seem unrelated. But for me, the cruel cowardly, usually racist, cops; the moronic followers of QAnon; the government haters who whine about Biden whenever they fill their gas tanks; the trollish message boarders who never have more to contribute than snide one-liners.; and Trump-lickers with a pretentious name like Oath Keepers but who can't keep an oath — they all blur into one contemptible turd-pile for me.

 

[Jarhyn]

It's almost $6/gallon in Denmark.
Poor fuckers are going under - can't afford healthcare.
Oh wait - no, that's the US.

The price of gasoline in Thailand is over $4/gallon. This is a country where college graduates may start with a $500 monthly salary, and a majority of the population makes much less than that. It wasn't so long ago that gas was $1/gallon; the price hike has had major effects.

Yet I've never heard a Thai complain about the price of gas (though they routinely offer to buy gas when being driven as a favor). Is whining about the price of gas a peculiarly American practice? Most developed countries have gas more expensive than the U.S.; do they whine about the price and about taxation whenever they fill their tanks?

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that the country that rescued Western Europe from Hitler, that landed a Man on the Moon, is the same country we see today, with right-wing whiners and cruel cowardly cops. I burst out laughing when I read that a founding member of the Oath Keepers was turning state's evidence: I guess the "Oath" (if they even took one) of these big brave freedom-loving Trump lovers didn't include Omertà.

ETA: The final sentence may seem unrelated. But for me, the cruel cowardly, usually racist, cops; the moronic followers of QAnon; the government haters who whine about Biden whenever they fill their gas tanks; the trollish message boarders who never have more to contribute than snide one-liners.; and Trump-lickers with a pretentious name like Oath Keepers but who can't keep an oath — they all blur into one contemptible turd-pile for me.

It's part of a pattern of distraction and bad faith.

Someone walks into a bar and gets dragged out for belligerent public endangerment? Cue an indignant tantrum about "hair pulling". Someone blocked from destroying the environment? "GAS PRICES are too high!!!111". Someone shoots a bunch of people in a mass shooting and so the left tries to do something about the ubiquity of weapons in public life? "But Good Guys with Guns™ can't be "good guys" then!"

There's always going to be a bad argument framed to look good in response to any thing the left does.

What is necessary is to keep a log of these bad reasons, each attached imminently to the response wherein the bad argument embedded is laid bare and bad, and have it all ready the moment they so much as try and land their bad faith bullshit. They will do it, so make sure the trap is already laid.

 

[lpetrich]

Vanita Gupta Wins Confirmation As Associate Attorney General : NPR

The Senate on Wednesday narrowly voted to confirm Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, elevating a longtime civil rights attorney to the third-highest position inside the Justice Department on the same day the agency announced renewed efforts to monitor local police practices.

Gupta was confirmed by a vote of 51 to 49, with only one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, breaking ranks to join Democrats in approving her nomination.

...
During her confirmation hearing, Gupta apologized for any "harsh rhetoric" she has used against Republicans but nonetheless struggled to win GOP support. In remarks ahead of the vote, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he would oppose Gupta, saying she had "levied attacks on members of this body" and "amplified left-wing fear-mongering toward judicial nominees and sitting federal judges."

...
Explaining her party-breaking support for Gupta, Alaska's Murkowski said that while some of the nominee's past remarks troubled her, she was ultimately swayed by a lengthy conversation with Gupta.

"I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to a woman who I believe has demonstrated throughout her professional career to be deeply, deeply committed to matters of justice," Murkowski said.

Gupta won similar praise during her confirmation from the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest law enforcement union.

By comparison, Lisa Monaco became Deputy Attorney General almost unanimously, with only Ted Cruz and Rand Paul voting against her.

 

[lpetrich]

Who Are President Biden's Cabinet Members And Key Advisers? : NPR
Lists 31 confirmed and 3 to go.

• Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Rohit Chopra
• Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy - Eric Lander
• Director, Office of Management and Budget - (no proposed successor of Neera Tanden)

U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session (2021)

• Vanita Gupta - Assoc Atty Gnrl - 49-34, 50-49, 50-49, 50-49
• Lisa O. Monaco - Dep Atty Gnrl - 94-3, 98-2
• Colin Hackett Kahl - Udr Sec'y of Defense - 50-50, 49-44, 49-45
• Jason Scott Miller - Dep Dir of Office of Management and Budget - 82-13, 81-13
• Janet Garvin McCabe - Dep Admin of the Environmental Protection Agency - 52-42, 52-42
• Samantha Power - Admin of the US Agency for International Development - 67-28, 68-26

SP was an ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama years.

I'm thinking of plopping all the numbers into some data-analysis software to see how consistent the votes are.

 

[lpetrich]

More and more.

• Andrea Joan Palm - Dep Sec'y of Health & Human Svcs - 62-35, 61-37
• Cynthia Minette Marten - Dep Sec'y of Education - 54-44, 54-44
• Ronald Stroman - Gov of US Postal Service - 68-30, 69-30, 67-32, 66-32
• Amber Faye McReynolds - Gov of US Postal Service - 60-38, 59-38
• Donet Dominic Graves - Dep Sec'y of Commerce - 89-7

Discharged from the Finance Committee:

• Chiquita Brooks-LaSure - Admin of the Ctrs for Medicare and Medicaid Svcs - 51-48

She's back!
Neera Tanden joins White House as a senior adviser after withdrawing Cabinet nomination - CNNPolitics

A longtime health policy expert, Tanden will begin planning for potential policy changes that could result from the forthcoming Supreme Court decision on Republican legal efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act. She worked in former President Barack Obama's administration as the act was designed and implemented.

She withdrew after getting a lot of criticism over her tweets about some politicians. Serving in her place is the deputy OMB director, Shalanda Young.

Tanden was a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton who became president of the liberal Center for American Progress after leaving the Obama administration.

She will not need Senate confirmation.

 

[lpetrich]

Discharged from the Judiciary Committee:

• Kristen M. Clarke - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 50-48

No other changes.

 

[lpetrich]

U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session (2021)

• Chiquita Brooks-LaSure - Admin of the Ctrs for Medicare and Medicaid Svcs - 51-48, 52-43, 55-44
• Kristen M. Clarke - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 50-48, 51-48, 51-48

Who Are President Biden's Cabinet Members And Key Advisers? : NPR

Of the remaining three, Eric Lander is confirmed as Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy by voice vote. The other two:

• Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Rohit Chopra
• Director, Office of Management and Budget - (no proposed successor of Neera Tanden)

 

[lpetrich]

No progress on the missing ones in NPR's list.

• Julien Xavier Neals - US Dist Judge for Dist of NJ - 66-28, 66-33
• Regina M. Rodriguez - US Dist Judge for Dist of NJ - 72-28, 72-28
• Zahid N. Quraishi - US Dist Judge for Dist of NJ - 83-16, 81-16
• Ketanji Brown Jackson - US Crct Judge for Dist of NJ - 52-46, 53-44
• Lina M. Khan - Fed Trade Cmsnr - 72-25, 69-28
• Radhika Fox - Ass't Admin of the EPA - 55-43, 55-43
• Lydia Kay Griggsby - US Dist Judge for Dist of MD - 57-41, 59-39
• Tommy P. Beaudreau - Dep Sec'y of the Interior - 89-9, 88-9
• John K. Tien - Dep Sec'y of Homeland Security - 63-33, 60-34
• Charles Fonzone - Gen Cnsl of the Office of Nat'l Intel - 52-35, 55-45
• Kiran Arjandas Ahuja - Dir of the Office of Psnl Mgmt - 50-50, 50-50

Mostly judges now.

 

[lpetrich]

More appointees.

• Deborah L. Boardman - US Dist Judge for Dist of MD - 52-48, 52-48
• Candace Jackson-Akiwumi - US Crct Judge for 7th Crct - 53-47, 53-40
• Uzra Zeya - Und Sec'y of State (Civ Sec, Dem, Hmn Rts) - 71-23, 73-24
• Julie A. Su - Dep Sec'y of Labor - 50-47, 50-47
• Jocelyn Samuels - Member of the EEOC - 53-47, 52-47
• Seema Nanda - Slctr for the Dep't of Labor - 53-47, 52-46
• J. Nellie Liang - Und Sec'y of the Treasury - 72-27, 72-27
• Donald Michael Remy - Dep Sec'y of Vet Affairs - 90-8, 91-8
• Tiffany P. Cunningham - US Crct Judge for Fed Crct - 63-34, 63-33

Incomplete one:

• Jennifer Ann Abruzzo - Gnrl Cnsl of the NLRB - 50-48 (discharged from committee)

 

[lpetrich]

• Jennifer Ann Abruzzo - Gnrl Cnsl of the NLRB - 50-48, 50-50, 50-50
• Kenneth Allen Polite Jr - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 57-43, 56-44
• Bonnie D. Jenkins - Udr Sec'y of State for Arms Ctrl & Int'l Security - 52-48, 52-48
• Jill Hruby - Udr Sec'y of Nuclear Security, Dep't of Energy - 79-16
• Todd Sunhwae Kim - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 54-40, 58-41
• Gwynne A. Wilcox - Member NLRB - 52-47, 52-47
• David M. Prouty - Member NLRB - 53-46, 53-46
• Ur Mendoza Jaddou - Dir US Ctznshp Immig Svcs, DHS - 50-41, 47-34
• Eunice C. Lee - US Crct Judge for 2nd Crct - 50-49, 50-47

Incomplete:

• Tracy Stone-Manning Dir Bureau of Land Mgmt 50-49 (discharged from committee)

 

[blastula]

Ambassadorships are the sleaziest and croniest of all positions, by both parties.

Rahm Emanuel grilled on Laquan McDonald murder by only one senator at confirmation hearing to be U.S. Ambassador to Japan - Chicago Sun-Times

Rahm Emanuel caught major breaks at his Wednesday Senate confirmation hearing to be President Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan, with only one Democratic senator, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, skeptical of his handling of the Laquan McDonald murder while he was mayor and most Republicans not even bothering to show up.

Rahm Emanuel Addresses the McDonald Killing and China During His Confirmation Hearing - The New York Times

Yet it seemed clear from the start that the issue would not represent a serious impediment to his confirmation. He received words of support from several Democrats on the committee, as well as the ranking Republican, Senator Jim Risch of Idaho. He was introduced to the committee by Senator Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee and a former ambassador to Japan, who argued for bipartisan approval of Mr. Emanuel.

 

[lpetrich]

Neera Tanden named White House staff secretary - POLITICO - "The former nominee to serve as White House budget director will keep her current title as senior adviser to the president."

Shalanda Young — a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee who is popular among both Democrats and Republicans — went on to win confirmation to serve as deputy OMB director in March, and she has been leading the agency in an acting capacity since then.

Noting
Neera Tanden named White House staff secretary for President Biden - The Washington Post

Nominations:

• James Richard Kvaal - Udr Sec'y of Education - 55-37, 58-37
• David G. Estudillo - US Dist Judge for W Dist of WA - 52-42, 54-41
• Angel Kelley - US Dist Judge for Dist of MA - 52-43, 52-44
• Veronica S. Rossman - US Crct Judge for 10th Crct - 51-44, 50-42
• Margaret Irene Strickland - US Dist Judge for Dist of NM - 52-46, 52-45
• Rohit Chopra - Dir Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - 49-48, 50-50, 50-48
• Lily Lawrence Batchelder - Ass't Sec'y of Treasury - 63-35, 64-34
• Jayme Ray White - Dep US Trade Rep - 78-20, 80-18
• Florence Y. Pan - US Dist Judge for DC - 66-27, 68-30
• Sarah Bianchi - Dep US Trade Rep - 85-13, 85-11
• Daniel J. Kritenbrink - Ass't Sec'y of State (E Asian, Pacific) - 77-18, 72-14
• Karen Erika Donfried - Ass't Sec'y of State (Europe, Eurasia) - 65-21, 73-26
• Monica P. Medina - Ass't Sec'y of State (Oceans, Int'l Env Sci) - 57-26, 61-36
• Mary Catherine Phee - Ass't Sec'y of State (Africa) - 58-28, 67-31
• Todd D. Robinson - Ass't Sec'y of State (Int'l Narco Law Enf) - 54-29, 53-21
• Jessica Lewis - Ass't Sec'y of State (Political Military) - 62-21, 70-27
• Robert T. Anderson - Sol of the Dep't of Interior - 52-46, 53-44
• Jonathan Eugene Meyer - Gnrl Cnsl of the Dept of Homeland Security - 52-46, 51-47
• Tracy Stone-Manning - Dir Bureau of Land Mgmt - 50-49, 50-48, 50-45
• Paloma Adams-Allen - Dep Admin for the US AID - 78-21, 79-20
• Lauren J. King, - US Dist Judge for W Dist of WA - 55-44, 55-44
• Sarah A.L. Merriam - US Dist Judge for Dist of CT - 53-47, 54-46
• Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon - Ass't Sec'y for Civil Rights of Dept of Education - 50-49, 50-50, 50-50
• Gustavo A. Gelpi - US Crct Judge for 1st Crct - 54-39, 52-41
• Christine P. O'Hearn - US Dist Judge for Dist of NJ - 53-44, 53-44
• Tana Lin - US Dist Judge for W Dist of WA - 52-47, 52-45

Incomplete:

• Brian Eddie Nelson - Udr Sec'y for Terrorism & Financial Crimes - 50-44
• Douglas L. Parker - Ass't Sec'y of Labor - 51-47
• Myrna Perez - US Crct Judge for 2nd Crct - 51-48

No proposed candidate:

• Director, Office of Management and Budget - (no proposed successor of Neera Tanden)

 

[Derec]

Ambassadorships are the sleaziest and croniest of all positions, by both parties.

Rahm Emanuel grilled on Laquan McDonald murder by only one senator at confirmation hearing to be U.S. Ambassador to Japan - Chicago Sun-Times
Rahm Emanuel Addresses the McDonald Killing and China During His Confirmation Hearing - The New York Times

That may be so, but I do not think Rahm is a good example here. He was not a bad mayor - certainly better than the current office holder. And the L McD case is overstated - he was no innocent, unarmed teenager, he was a knife-wielding maniac.

Also good thing for Rahm than only the Senate does confirmations. He'd get a lot more flak from the Squad in the House.
Ocasio-Cortez Urges Senate to Reject Emanuel’s Nomination

 

[lpetrich]

Nominations:

• Douglas L. Parker - Ass't Sec'y of Labor - 51-47, 50-41
• Myrna Perez - US Crct Judge for 2nd Crct - 51-48, 48-43
• Jia M. Cobb - US Dist Judge for DC - 51-46, 52-45
• Karen McGlashan Williams - US Dist Judge for Dist of NJ - 58-40, 56-38
• Patricia Tolliver Giles - US Dist Judge for E Dist of VA - 69-29, 68-27
• Michael S. Nachmanoff - US Dist Judge for E Dist of VA - 51-46, 52-46
• Sarala Vidya Nagala - US Dist Judge for Dist of CT - 52-46, 52-46
• Omar Antonio Williams - US Dist Judge for Dist of CT - 52-46, 52-46
• Matthew G. Olsen - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 52-44, 53-45
• Christopher H. Schroeder - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 55-41, 56-41
• Hampton Y. Dellinger - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 51-45, 53-37
• Elizabeth Prelogar - Sol Gnrl - 53-42, 53-36
• Beth Robinson - US Crct Judge for 2nd Crct - 51-36, 51-45
• Toby J. Heytens - US Crct Jdge for 4th Crct - 51-31, 53-43
• Jonathan Davidson - Dep Udr Sec'y of Treasury - 88-11, 88-10
• Benjamin Harris - Dep Ass't Sec'y of Treasury - 79-20, 78-21
• Isobel Coleman - Dep Admin of the US Agency for Int'l Development - 59-40, 59-39
• Jeffrey M. Prieto - Ass't Admin of the Environmental Protection Agency - 56-43, 54-44
• Rajesh D. Nayak - Ass't Sec'y of Labor - 53-46, 52-45
• Michael Lee Connor - Ass't Sec'y of Army - 92-5
• Robert Luis Santos - Dir of Census - 61-36, 58-35

Incomplete:

• Brian Eddie Nelson - Udr Sec'y for Terrorism & Financial Crimes - 50-44
• Jennifer Sung - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 49-49

 

[Harry Bosch]

Ambassadorships are the sleaziest and croniest of all positions, by both parties.

Rahm Emanuel grilled on Laquan McDonald murder by only one senator at confirmation hearing to be U.S. Ambassador to Japan - Chicago Sun-Times
Rahm Emanuel Addresses the McDonald Killing and China During His Confirmation Hearing - The New York Times

That may be so, but I do not think Rahm is a good example here. He was not a bad mayor - certainly better than the current office holder. And the L McD case is overstated - he was no innocent, unarmed teenager, he was a knife-wielding maniac.

Also good thing for Rahm than only the Senate does confirmations. He'd get a lot more flak from the Squad in the House.
Ocasio-Cortez Urges Senate to Reject Emanuel’s Nomination

I don't agree with AOC here. Most ambassadorship positions are rewards for being a good political soldier. The Japanese position is crucial. We need the best person for this position. We need to reassure our allies in the area and try to blunt the expanding Chinese military. Putting the wrong leader in this position could lead to WW3.

 

[lpetrich]

(On AOC rejecting Rahm Emanuel...)

I don't agree with AOC here. Most ambassadorship positions are rewards for being a good political soldier. The Japanese position is crucial. We need the best person for this position. We need to reassure our allies in the area and try to blunt the expanding Chinese military. Putting the wrong leader in this position could lead to WW3.

So one must appoint an experienced diplomat instead of a political crony with no experience in foreign affairs.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

(On AOC rejecting Rahm Emanuel...)

I don't agree with AOC here. Most ambassadorship positions are rewards for being a good political soldier. The Japanese position is crucial. We need the best person for this position. We need to reassure our allies in the area and try to blunt the expanding Chinese military. Putting the wrong leader in this position could lead to WW3.

So one must appoint an experienced diplomat instead of a political crony with no experience in foreign affairs.

Who does AOC think should be nominated instead?

AOC's stock was at over-valued for a while and since the infrastructure no vote, her charisma is not enough to offset her apparent lack of political where-with-all. She is a sophmore who is the inexperienced face of an inexperienced caucus in the House Representatives. Her talents and skills don't appear to be growing with experience. She is a quasi-1st round QB draft pick that is not impressing at the moment. Her votes are starting to endanger any progressive progress that could be had.

In other words, she appears to be squandering a very unlikely opportunity she managed to grab ahold of.

 

[Patooka]

In other words, she appears to be squandering a very unlikely opportunity she managed to grab ahold of.

It might be fairer to say both supporters and critics of AOC had constructed fantasies with regards to who she is or what she has power over, and then got disappointed when she didn't measure up to the imaginary version they assigned in their heads.

 

[thebeave]

(On AOC rejecting Rahm Emanuel...)

I don't agree with AOC here. Most ambassadorship positions are rewards for being a good political soldier. The Japanese position is crucial. We need the best person for this position. We need to reassure our allies in the area and try to blunt the expanding Chinese military. Putting the wrong leader in this position could lead to WW3.

So one must appoint an experienced diplomat instead of a political crony with no experience in foreign affairs.

So, she is insisting on experience over no experience, when she herself came into one of the highest political positions in the world with zero prior political experience? Not to mention she had the chutzpah to draft a "Green New Deal" costing tens of trillions of dollars in her first year in office?

 

[lpetrich]

One can certainly argue about that, but if Ambassador to Japan is as critical a position as Harry Bosch seems to think, then one needs someone with more appropriate experience.

日本語が話せる大使が欲しいです。
Nihongo ga hanaseru taishi ga hoshīdesu.
(Google Translate)

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

In other words, she appears to be squandering a very unlikely opportunity she managed to grab ahold of.

It might be fairer to say both supporters and critics of AOC had constructed fantasies with regards to who she is or what she has power over, and then got disappointed when she didn't measure up to the imaginary version they assigned in their heads.

Definitely truth here. There are both pro-AOC cults and anti-AOC cults. I've been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see where things led. The right-wing clearly fear her charisma, which if matched with intelligence and skill, could make Nancy Pelosi look like John Boehner. And things are real early still for her, and plenty maturing can still occur. But she is definitely making a bunch more noise than she should as a sophomore.

(On AOC rejecting Rahm Emanuel...)

I don't agree with AOC here. Most ambassadorship positions are rewards for being a good political soldier. The Japanese position is crucial. We need the best person for this position. We need to reassure our allies in the area and try to blunt the expanding Chinese military. Putting the wrong leader in this position could lead to WW3.

So one must appoint an experienced diplomat instead of a political crony with no experience in foreign affairs.

So, she is insisting on experience over no experience, when she herself came into one of the highest political positions in the world with zero prior political experience? Not to mention she had the chutzpah to draft a "Green New Deal" costing tens of trillions of dollars in her first year in office?

I haven't seen her complaining about experience of the nominee, just the quote about his "handling" of the high profile Chicago shooting. lpetrich brought that issue up.

 

[lpetrich]

Fair enough. That Japanese text I composed using Google Translate. It means "We want an ambassador who can speak Japanese. "

 

[blastula]

They are plenty of people with relevant diplomatic expertise that none of us have ever heard of, and that's who these positions should go to. Like ambassadors Marie Yovanovitch or William Taylor, names we learned of during the Ukraine fiasco. Except the positions are too often handed out like trifles to donors and cronies.

 

[Swammerdami]

Definitely truth here. There are both pro-AOC cults and anti-AOC cults. I've been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see where things led. The right-wing clearly fear her charisma, which if matched with intelligence and skill, could make Nancy Pelosi look like John Boehner. And things are real early still for her, and plenty maturing can still occur. But she is definitely making a bunch more noise than she should as a sophomore.

Is she forcing the cameras and microphones to point at her instead of someone else? When FoxNews babbles about her are they unable to control themselves? Does AOC achieve this mesmerism with special drugs like scopolamine, or with ordinary witchcraft?

One reason for the media attention is that she is photogenic. Does she have a responsibility to hire a plastic surgeon and make her face uglier?

How do you feel about the 'MTG' cult?

 

[blastula]

The whole GOP should self-censure, resign and gfts.

 

[lpetrich]

Why Biden's nominee to regulate banks is proving so controversial : NPR

Progressives have applauded her nomination, seeing in Omarova a person who would bring a tougher approach to banks at an agency that has been criticized for being too friendly with the sector. But there was no indication any Republican on the committee will back her. Omarova's critics say she is a "radical" nominee who wants to nationalize banking.

Omarova has attracted unusually personal criticism. At the hearing, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) brought up her childhood in the former Soviet Union, and Republicans cited an academic paper she recently wrote proposing a reinvention of the U.S. financial system, which The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board argues is proof she hasn't "repudiated her Soviet-era views."

Omarova, who came to the U.S. as a university student, and is now a U.S. citizen, strongly denies she holds communist views. She accused her critics of singling her out because she is a woman and a minority.

Senator Pat Toomey also attacked her.

Omarova "clearly has an aversion to anything like free-market capitalism," the senator said, citing examples of her academic work.

During his speech, Toomey said Omarova's interest in these topics and others could have been shaped by her upbringing.

"You could ask yourself, 'Where would a person even come up with these ideas?'" he said. "Well, maybe a contributing factor could be in if a person grew up in the former Soviet Union, and went to Moscow State University, and attended there on a Vladimir Lenin Academic Scholarship."

Omarova was born in what is now Kazakhstan. She came to the U.S. as part of an exchange program when she was a student at Moscow State University in 1991. But when the Soviet Union dissolved, she was stranded in the U.S. Today, she is a U.S. citizen.

She looks eastern Asian, and that's common among Kazakhs: Why do the Kazakh people look like Chinese? - Quora -- they look mixed European / East Asian to relatively pure East Asian

Omarova has defended her research and pushed back against the personal nature of the attacks against her.

"I am not a communist," she shot back to Kennedy during Thursday's hearing after the Louisiana senator said he did not know whether to describe her as a "professor" or a "comrade."

"I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born," she also said.

In an interview with MSNBC, Omarova said, "My entire academic career has been centered around this issue of how to ensure that our financial system is stable, effective, and efficient."

 

[lpetrich]

The Recount on Twitter: "Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) presses Biden’s pick for currency comptroller Saule Omarova about “you used to be a member of a group called The Young Communists.”

Omarova explains, because she was born in the Soviet Union, she was part of school youth programs mandated for students. (vid link)" / Twitter
She was in the Komsomol, the Young Communists, a standard part of growing up in the Soviet Union.

The Recount on Twitter: "Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA): “I don’t know whether to call you professor or comrade.”

Someone off-camera: “Oh my goodness.”

Dr. Saule Omarova, Biden’s comptroller currency pick: “I’m not a communist. I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born.” (vid link)" / Twitter
She also described how half her family had suffered terribly under Joseph Stalin's rule. She grew up without knowing half of her family, and her mother escaped death twice.

Then
Alexander S. Vindman on Twitter: "Sir, have you no shame?

This is an insult to anyone with an accent, anyone who fled communism, anyone born abroad. Your own ancestors were slurred for being born in elsewhere, were they not?

Abhorrent. I’ll say what she could not… to hell with you!" / Twitter
 Alexander Vindman - the same Alexander Vindman of Trump's attempt to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Joe Biden's son Hunter.

Alexander Semyon Vindman (born June 6, 1975)[2] is a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel who was the Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council (NSC) until he was reassigned on February 7, 2020. Vindman came to national attention in October 2019 when he testified before the United States Congress regarding the Trump–Ukraine scandal. His testimony provided evidence that resulted in a charge of abuse of power in the impeachment of Donald Trump.

Alexander S. Vindman on Twitter: "See @SenJohnKennedy in tyrannical regimes you are forced to join organization. Much like Trump demanding followers carry Trump membership cards to prove loyalty.

Also, this is pic of me and my brothers has an image of Lenin on the wall. Any questions? (pic link)" / Twitter
I don't think that Trump and his followers have gone that far, but Trump is very big on demanding loyalty to him.

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The Republicans attacks on @STOmarova are sexist, xenophobic and racist. It's clear they've declared war on the President's OCC nominee to protect the interests of big banks to the detriment of consumers. The Senate should ignore the red-baiting nonsense & support her nomination." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Opinion | Sen. John Neely Kennedy goes full Joe McCarthy in questioning a Biden nominee born in the U.S.S.R. - The Washington Post

As a refugee from the former Soviet Union and a critic of Trumpism, I have gotten used to receiving hate mail that tells me to go back to where I came from and accuses me of being a Communist or a Russian agent. (Pretty rich coming from supporters of a person elected president with Russian help!) Still, it is startling to see this level of Red-baiting nativism not just in anonymous hate mail but in the august hearing rooms of the U.S. Senate.

Then about Sen John Kennedy R-LA's insinuating that she is a Communist.

Kennedy is far from alone in bringing up Omarova’s background. The Wall Street Journal editorial board accused her of not repudiating her “Soviet-era views,” and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) argued that she has “an aversion to anything like free-market capitalism” because she “grew up in the former Soviet Union.”

Coming from a family of Soviet emigres (my parents also graduated from Moscow State), I can assure Toomey that people who emigrated from the Soviet Union are usually at least as conservative as he is. That Omarova is on the left no doubt owes a lot more to her background in American academia than to her upbringing in the U.S.S.R.

The kind of smears directed at Omarova were remarkably similar to those aimed at Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, another immigrant from the Soviet Union, who testified about then-President Donald Trump’s attempts to use military aid to blackmail Ukraine. That led to accusations that Vindman was a Ukrainian spy. In Vindman’s case, the calumnies were especially offensive because he is a combat veteran who was wounded in Iraq. But they are bad enough in Omarova’s case, too. No American should be subjected to such character assassination.

 

[Trausti]

Opinion | Sen. John Neely Kennedy goes full Joe McCarthy in questioning a Biden nominee born in the U.S.S.R. - The Washington Post

As a refugee from the former Soviet Union and a critic of Trumpism, I have gotten used to receiving hate mail that tells me to go back to where I came from and accuses me of being a Communist or a Russian agent. (Pretty rich coming from supporters of a person elected president with Russian help!) Still, it is startling to see this level of Red-baiting nativism not just in anonymous hate mail but in the august hearing rooms of the U.S. Senate.

Then about Sen John Kennedy R-LA's insinuating that she is a Communist.

Kennedy is far from alone in bringing up Omarova’s background. The Wall Street Journal editorial board accused her of not repudiating her “Soviet-era views,” and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) argued that she has “an aversion to anything like free-market capitalism” because she “grew up in the former Soviet Union.”

Coming from a family of Soviet emigres (my parents also graduated from Moscow State), I can assure Toomey that people who emigrated from the Soviet Union are usually at least as conservative as he is. That Omarova is on the left no doubt owes a lot more to her background in American academia than to her upbringing in the U.S.S.R.

The kind of smears directed at Omarova were remarkably similar to those aimed at Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, another immigrant from the Soviet Union, who testified about then-President Donald Trump’s attempts to use military aid to blackmail Ukraine. That led to accusations that Vindman was a Ukrainian spy. In Vindman’s case, the calumnies were especially offensive because he is a combat veteran who was wounded in Iraq. But they are bad enough in Omarova’s case, too. No American should be subjected to such character assassination.

This is incredibly dishonest. Senator Kennedy went over her past writings/statements wherein she advocated, among other things, that private banking should be abolished and the government control all accounts. That was the basis of the characterization. But all the media does is lie.

 

[lpetrich]

This is incredibly dishonest. Senator Kennedy went over her past writings/statements wherein she advocated, among other things, that private banking should be abolished and the government control all accounts. That was the basis of the characterization. But all the media does is lie.

That's not what he said in the hearings. Pay attention.

 

[thebeave]

This is incredibly dishonest. Senator Kennedy went over her past writings/statements wherein she advocated, among other things, that private banking should be abolished and the government control all accounts. That was the basis of the characterization. But all the media does is lie.

That's not what he said in the hearings. Pay atten

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The Republicans attacks on @STOmarova are sexist, xenophobic and racist. It's clear they've declared war on the President's OCC nominee to protect the interests of big banks to the detriment of consumers. The Senate should ignore the red-baiting nonsense & support her nomination." / Twitter

What are the specific sexist, xenophobic and racist "attacks" that AOC is claiming were made?

 

[lpetrich]

Singling out SO because she is an eastern-Asian woman, and implying that she's un-American because of where she came from.

Nominations:

• Graham Scott Steele - Ass't Sec'y of Treasury - 55-38, 53-42
• Robert Farrell Bonnie - Udr Sec'y of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation - 76-19, 68-29
• Jonathan Kanter - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 68-29

Incomplete:

• Brian Eddie Nelson - Udr Sec'y for Terrorism & Financial Crimes - 50-44, 50-50
• Jennifer Sung - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 49-49

 

[thebeave]

Singling out SO because she is an eastern-Asian woman, and implying that she's un-American because of where she came from.

Nominations:

• Graham Scott Steele - Ass't Sec'y of Treasury - 55-38, 53-42
• Robert Farrell Bonnie - Udr Sec'y of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation - 76-19, 68-29
• Jonathan Kanter - Ass't Atty Gnrl - 68-29

Incomplete:

• Brian Eddie Nelson - Udr Sec'y for Terrorism & Financial Crimes - 50-44, 50-50
• Jennifer Sung - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 49-49

What do you mean by this? Unless I missed something, their beef was with regard to her ideas and philosophy. Many nominees before her have been questioned and criticised fairly harshly and rigorously, regardless of their gender or race. Are they supposed to go easy on her just because she is an eastern-Asian woman? Now that would be sexist and racist, for sure.

 

[lpetrich]

Joe Biden taps Shalanda Young, Nani Coloretti for top OMB posts

President Joe Biden will nominate Shalanda Young to serve as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Nani Coloretti to serve as deputy director.

The nominations come at a time when the Biden administration is asking Congress to approve more than $2 trillion in spending on two transformative bills.

Young has served as the acting director of OMB since January. If she’s confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to hold the title.

The Biden Admin's first choice was Neera Tanden, but she had a long history of making nasty tweets about progressives and Republicans.

Unlike Tanden, Young enjoys broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. In March, the Senate confirmed Young as deputy director of OMB in a 63-37 vote. More than a dozen Republicans voted to confirm her.

 

[lpetrich]

Singling out SO because she is an eastern-Asian woman, and implying that she's un-American because of where she came from.

What do you mean by this? Unless I missed something, their beef was with regard to her ideas and philosophy. Many nominees before her have been questioned and criticised fairly harshly and rigorously, regardless of their gender or race. Are they supposed to go easy on her just because she is an eastern-Asian woman? Now that would be sexist and racist, for sure.

So Red-baiting is your idea of doing assessments?

 

[thebeave]

Singling out SO because she is an eastern-Asian woman, and implying that she's un-American because of where she came from.

What do you mean by this? Unless I missed something, their beef was with regard to her ideas and philosophy. Many nominees before her have been questioned and criticised fairly harshly and rigorously, regardless of their gender or race. Are they supposed to go easy on her just because she is an eastern-Asian woman? Now that would be sexist and racist, for sure.

So Red-baiting is your idea of doing assessments?

They did question her about her background living as a Communist in a Communist country. When people get high level security clearances (like I had) or top level jobs in government, they answer questions about their travels, stays and purpose in Communist countries. It is not unreasonable to ask about that. That's not what I'm asking about though. All I want to know is what racist and sexist attacks AOC is claiming were made against SO. Its a pretty simple question.

 

[Trausti]

This is incredibly dishonest. Senator Kennedy went over her past writings/statements wherein she advocated, among other things, that private banking should be abolished and the government control all accounts. That was the basis of the characterization. But all the media does is lie.

That's not what he said in the hearings. Pay attention.

Wut? He did quote that, amongst her other writings. Pay attention.

 

[lpetrich]

Wut? He did quote that, amongst her other writings. Pay attention.

Where? I suspect that this was a quote out of context.

Imagine the tables turned. A Republican President appoints some Nordic-looking man who was raised in Russia. A Democratic Senator then presumes that he is working for Vladimir Putin and grills him about his seeming evidence of loyalty to that Russian leader. All the right-wingers would be howling "No fair! No fair! No fair!".

 

[blastula]

This is incredibly dishonest. Senator Kennedy went over her past writings/statements wherein she advocated, among other things, that private banking should be abolished and the government control all accounts. That was the basis of the characterization. But all the media does is lie.

I don't see how that takes away that he did call her comrade.

He also started his questioning by asking her about being a member in the youth communist organization, something mandatory for students at the time. He wanted to know whether she has ever sent in a letter of resignation.

 

[lpetrich]

Statement of President Joe Biden and Nominee for Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Saule Omarova | The White House

"I have accepted Saule Omarova’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency."

SO herself:

"I am writing to you today with a request to withdraw my candidacy from further consideration for the position of the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency."

Her home page: Saule Omarova - Cornell Law School

 

[lpetrich]

• Brian Eddie Nelson - Udr Sec'y for Terrorism & Financial Crimes - 50-44, 50-50, 50-49
• Jennifer Sung - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 49-49, 48-39, 50-49
• Rachael S. Rollins - US Atty for Dist of MA - 50-47, 50-50, 50-50
• Jessica Rosenworcel - Member of the FCC - 64-27, 68-31
• Deirdre Hamilton - Member of the Nat'l Mediation Board - 51-48, 52-48
• Chris Magnus - Comissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, US Dept of Homeland Security - 52-47, 50-47
• Michael D. Smith - CEO of the Corp for Nat'l and Community Service - 60-39, 58-41
• Lucy Haeran Koh - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 51-38, 48-39, 50-45
• Samantha D. Elliott - US Dist Judge for Dist of NH - 59-40, 62-37
• Ramin Toloui - Ass't Sec'y of State, Economic and Business Affairs - 76-13
• Atul Atmaram Gawande - Ass't Admin of the US Agency for International Development - 49-31, 48-31
• Linda Lopez - US Dist Judge for S Dist of CA - 47-30, 48-25
• Jinsook Ohta - US Dist Judge for S Dist of CA - 47-25, 47-24
• David Herrera Urias - US Dist Judge for Dist of NM - 45-25, 45-26
• Maame Ewusi-Mensah - US Dist Judge for C Dist of CA - 47-24, 46-24
• Jane M. Beckering - US Dist Judge for the W Dist of MI - 46-24, 45-25
• Shalina D. Kumar - US Dist Judge for the E Dist of MI - 45-25, 44-25
• Jennifer L. Thurston - US Dist Judge for E Dist of CA - 46-24, 46-24
• Katherine Marie Menendez - US Dist Judge for Dist of MN - 49-21, 49-21
• Mary Katherine Dimke - US Dist Judge for E Dist of WA - 47-23, 47-23

Incomplete:

• Holly A. Thomas - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 50-46, 42-25
• Gabriel P. Sanchez - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 44-24

All these redundant cloture votes.

 

[lpetrich]

Federal judiciary: The remarkable speed with which Joe Biden is seating judges.

As 2021 draws to a close, President Joe Biden has good reason to be frustrated. His legislative agenda is stymied in the Senate. His executive authority is under assault from Donald Trump’s judges. His administration was blindsided, again, by a spiraling COVID surge, this time with omicron. But there is one front on which Biden has a near-perfect score: judicial nominations. Over the past year, the White House has put forth slate after slate of diverse, well-qualified, progressive nominees—and the Senate has swiftly confirmed them. Biden’s breakneck pace, combined with his choice of nontraditional judges, has shattered too many records to count. No, the president has not loosened Donald Trump’s stranglehold on the Supreme Court. But his transformation of the lower courts will still have a profound impact on American law for decades to come.

How many judges confirmed in the first year of one's Presidency??

• JB: 40, the most since Ronald Reagan
• George Bush II, Bill Clinton: 28
• Donald Trump: 19
• Barack Obama: 13

In the US Court of Appeals:

• JB: 11
• BO: 3

A FAIRER COURT: How President Biden and Congress Raised the Bar in 2021

According to Alliance for Justice, nearly 75 percent of Biden’s judicial nominees are women, and nearly 65 percent are people of color. For comparison, only 24 percent of Trump’s judicial nominees were women, and just 16 percent were people of color.

...
While Clinton and Obama made a partial dent in the judiciary’s homogeneity, Trump zagged in the other direction, favoring straight white men. To combat this “whitewashing” of the judiciary, Biden and his advisers have ventured beyond the small circle of legal elites, seeking out lawyers who are too often overlooked by the usual gatekeepers.

This approach has led the White House to nominate candidates with a breadth of experience that goes far beyond what usually propels someone into the judiciary. For too long, Democratic and Republican presidents (including Obama) have elevated a disproportionate number of prosecutors and corporate lawyers to the bench. This bias skews and narrows courts’ perspectives; it deprives them of “a collaboration of minds with different voices, different perspectives, different experiences working together to solve problems,” as one judge noted. Or, to put it more cynically, it prejudices courts toward powerful corporations and prosecutors.

Under pressure from court reform groups like Demand Justice, Biden bucked this custom. He has nominated 21 public defenders, 14 civil rights attorneys, 10 plaintiff-side lawyers, three former legal aid lawyers, three consumer protection lawyers, and one labor lawyer. Already, he has doubled the number of former public defenders on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Several of his nominees previously fought for voting rights (Myrna Pérez and Dale Ho), marriage equality (Beth Robinson), and death row inmates (Holly Thomas). Their commitment to these controversial causes was not a deal-breaker for the White House; it was a selling point. At long last, courageous attorneys who stick their necks out to promote progressive values are being rewarded rather than punished by the Democratic establishment.

There is, however, a deficiency: Lawyers who have handled reproductive-rights issues.

 

[lpetrich]

So far, most of Biden’s nominees come from states with at least one Democratic senator, which eases the way to confirmation. But an increasing number of vacancies are opening up in states with two Republican senators, and these seats may prove harder to fill. Historically, the Senate Judiciary Committee sends “blue slips” to a nominee’s home-state senators soliciting their approval; for years, the committee killed nominations if senators did not return these slips. Under Obama, Republicans withheld blue slips to hold vacancies open for years. When Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley chaired the committee, however, they abandoned this practice, allowing the confirmation of Trump’s appeals court nominees from blue states, even over the objection of both Democratic senators.

The question is what will Democrats do now that it is their turn again. In the past, Dick Durbin—a Democrat and the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee—has indicated that he would not tolerate a blue slip blockade from Republicans. And on Wednesday, a committee aide confirmed to me that Durbin “does not plan to defer to Republicans who don’t return blue slips on circuit seats.” Moreover, while Republicans preserved blue slips for district court nominees, Durbin won’t abide by that rule “if he feels it will be abused,” the aide said.

But the Republicans are likely to squeal very loudly if Democrats treat them the way that they treated Democrats in the Trump years.

 

[lpetrich]

Biden's court picks face fierce GOP opposition | TheHill

President Biden is facing fierce opposition from the Republicans to his court picks, marking the latest escalation of an increasingly partisan fight in the Senate over the nation’s courts.

Most Republicans have voted for only a handful of the 40 judicial picks confirmed by the Senate this year, with a GOP senator voting on average for fewer than five nominees, according to a Hill review of the votes.

It’s a steep departure from the Obama years that, absent a reversal, judiciary watchers warn, represents a “new normal” in what has historically been a largely mundane but key part of the Senate’s work: confirming judicial nominees.

...
More than 92 percent of Biden’s court picks got "no" votes from more than 25 percent of senators, compared to 18.2 percent at the same point in former President Obama’s tenure, according to The Heritage Foundation's judicial appointments tracker.

It’s closer to, but still higher than, the roughly 68 percent of Trump’s judicial nominees who got "no" votes from more than 25 percent of senators, according to the Heritage data.

At least the Republicans can't obstruct those picks, like they did with Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court.

 

[lpetrich]

• Gabriel P. Sanchez - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 44-24, 52-47
• Holly A. Thomas - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 50-46, 42-25, 48-40
• Anne A. Witkowsky - Ass't Sec'y of State for Conflict & Stabilization Ops - 62-24, 61-26
• Alan Davidson - Ass't Sec'y of Commerce for Communications & Information - 64-30, 60-31
• Amitabha Bose - Admin of Federal Railroad Administration - 61-29, 68-29
• Bridget Meehan Brennan - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 61-30, 61-35
• Charles Esque Fleming - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 55-41, 56-42
• David Augustin Ruiz - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 59-38, 62-35
• Rupa Ranga Puttagunta - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 59-38, 57-38
• Kenia Seoane Lopez - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 59-38, 59-38
• Sean C. Staples - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 55-38, 59-38
• Ebony M. Scott - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 58-37, 59.38
• Donald Walker Tunnage - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 57-38, 54-39
• John P. Howard III - Assoc Judge of the DC Ct of Appeals - 62-34, 62-34
• Loren L. AliKhan - Assoc Judge of the DC Ct of Appeals - 55-40, 55-41
• Amy Gutmann - Amb to Germany - 54-37, 54-42
• Lisa A. Carty - Rep of the US in the UN Econ and Soc Council - 66-28, 66-31
• Scott A. Nathan - CEO of the US Int'l Development Finance Corp - 68-26, 72-24
• Chantale Yokmin Wong - US Dir of the Asian Develoment Bank - 64-30, 66-31
• John Patrick Coffey - Gnrl Counsel of the Dep't of the Navy - 76-18, 79-17
• Alexandra Baker - Dep Udr Sec'y of Defense - 70-24, 75-21
• Reta Jo Lewis - Pres of the Ex-Im Bank of the US - 54-39, 56-40
• Leonard Philip Stark - US Crct Judge for Fed Crct - 54-33, 61-35
• Douglas R. Bush - Ass't Sec'y of the Army - 95-2, 93-2
• Neil Harvey MacBride - Gnrl Counsel of the Treasury Dep't - 61-33
• Max Vekich - Fed Maritime Commissioner - 52-45, 51-43
• Robert McKinnon Califf - Commissioner of Food and Drugs, HHS Dep't - 49-45 #
• Celeste Ann Wallander - Ass't Sec'y of Defense - 81-13, 83-13
• David A. Honey - Dep Udr Sec'y of Defense - 93-3, 94-1
• Maria L. Pagan - Dep US Trade Rep (Geneva Office) - 78-19, 80-19
• Shalanda D. Young - Dir of Office of Mgmt & Budget - 53-31, 61-36

Incomplete:

• Samuel R. Bagenstos - Gnrl Counsel of the HHS Dep't

 

[lpetrich]

 Shalanda Young was made Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget a year ago, and she was made Acting Director after Neera Tanden's candidacy failed. Last fall, President Biden nominated her for director, and yesteerday, she was confirmed as Director.

Voting for her in all four votes: all the Democrats that voted, and some of the Republicans that voted, like Susan Collins R-ME and Lisa Murkowski R-AK.

2021 Cloture vote

Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Shalanda D. Young to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget )
Vote Number: 128
Vote Date: March 23, 2021, 11:57 AM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Cloture Motion Agreed to

D+I: Y 50
R: Y 12, N 38
Ttl: Y 62, N 38

2021 Nomination vote

Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation: Shalanda D. Young, of Louisiana, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget )
Vote Number: 129
Vote Date: March 23, 2021, 02:16 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Nomination Confirmed

D+I: Y 50
R: Y 13, N 37
Ttl: Y 63, N 37

2022 Cloture vote

Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Shalanda D. Young, of Louisiana, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget )
Vote Number: 79
Vote Date: March 14, 2022, 05:31 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Cloture Motion Agreed to

D+I: Y 42, nv 8
R: Y 11, N 31, nv 8
Ttl: Y 53, N 31, nv 16

2022 Nomination vote

Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation: Shalanda D. Young, of Louisiana, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget )
Vote Number: 80
Vote Date: March 15, 2022, 04:04 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Nomination Confirmed

D+I: Y 47, nv 3
R: Y 14, N 36
Ttl: Y 61, N 36, nv 3

 

[lpetrich]

Fixed list:

• Gabriel P. Sanchez - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 44-24, 52-47
• Holly A. Thomas - US Crct Judge for 9th Crct - 50-46, 42-25, 48-40
• Anne A. Witkowsky - Ass't Sec'y of State for Conflict & Stabilization Ops - 62-24, 61-26
• Alan Davidson - Ass't Sec'y of Commerce for Communications & Information - 64-30, 60-31
• Amitabha Bose - Admin of Federal Railroad Administration - 61-29, 68-29
• Bridget Meehan Brennan - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 61-30, 61-35
• Charles Esque Fleming - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 55-41, 56-42
• David Augustin Ruiz - US Dist Judge for N Dist of OH - 59-38, 62-35
• Rupa Ranga Puttagunta - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 59-38, 57-38
• Kenia Seoane Lopez - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 59-38, 59-38
• Sean C. Staples - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 55-38, 59-38
• Ebony M. Scott - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 58-37, 59-38
• Donald Walker Tunnage - Assoc Judge of the Superior Ct of DC - 57-38, 54-39
• John P. Howard III - Assoc Judge of the DC Ct of Appeals - 62-34, 62-34
• Loren L. AliKhan - Assoc Judge of the DC Ct of Appeals - 55-40, 55-41
• Amy Gutmann - Amb to Germany - 54-37, 54-42
• Lisa A. Carty - Rep of the US in the UN Econ and Soc Council - 66-28, 66-31
• Scott A. Nathan - CEO of the US Int'l Development Finance Corp - 68-26, 72-24
• Chantale Yokmin Wong - US Dir of the Asian Develoment Bank - 64-30, 66-31
• John Patrick Coffey - Gnrl Counsel of the Dep't of the Navy - 76-18, 79-17
• Alexandra Baker - Dep Udr Sec'y of Defense - 70-24, 75-21
• Reta Jo Lewis - Pres of the Ex-Im Bank of the US - 54-39, 56-40
• Leonard Philip Stark - US Crct Judge for Fed Crct - 54-33, 61-35
• Douglas R. Bush - Ass't Sec'y of the Army - 95-2, 93-2
• Neil Harvey MacBride - Gnrl Counsel of the Treasury Dep't - 61-33
• Max Vekich - Fed Maritime Commissioner - 52-45, 51-43
• Celeste Ann Wallander - Ass't Sec'y of Defense - 81-13, 83-13
• David A. Honey - Dep Udr Sec'y of Defense - 93-3, 94-1
• Maria L. Pagan - Dep US Trade Rep (Geneva Office) - 78-19, 80-19
• Shalanda D. Young - Dir of Office of Mgmt & Budget - 53-31, 61-36

Incomplete:

• Robert McKinnon Califf - Commissioner of Food and Drugs, HHS Dep't - 49-45
• Samuel R. Bagenstos - Gnrl Counsel of the HHS Dep't - 48-47

Then 12 cloture votes for judge appointments. Nearly *every* appointment so far has had a cloture vote as well as a vote on the appointment itself.

 

[lpetrich]

There was some drama llama recently over one would-be appointment, that of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.

From  Sarah Bloom Raskin

Sarah Bloom Raskin (born April 15, 1961) is an American attorney and regulator, who served as the 13th United States deputy secretary of the treasury from 2014 to 2017 and as member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2010 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Bloom Raskin previously served as Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation and as a managing director at the Promontory Financial Group.[1] She is a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University. In May 2017, she was elected to the Board of Directors for Reserve Trust Company, a FinTech company based in Colorado. [2] In January 2022, President Joe Biden nominated her to succeed Randal Quarles as vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve.[3] On March 15, 2022, she withdrew her name from consideration to serve at the Fed, citing "relentless attacks by special interests" who oppose her frank acknowledgment that climate change could pose a threat to economic stability.[4]

Sarah Bloom Raskin | Federal Reserve History

Statement from President Biden on the Withdrawal of Sarah Bloom Raskin’s Nomination to Serve as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors | The White House

Despite her readiness—and despite having been confirmed by the Senate with broad, bipartisan support twice in the past—Sarah was subject to baseless attacks from industry and conservative interest groups. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are more focused on amplifying these false claims and protecting special interests than taking important steps toward addressing inflation and lowering costs for the American people

Biden's plan to reshape the Fed just hit a hurdle - CNN

President Joe Biden planned to reshape the Federal Reserve through his nominations for the three vacant seats on the board of governors. But Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia threw a wrench into those plans Monday.

...
Raskin's stance on environmental issues, including her view on the transition away from fossil fuels, are colliding with soaring gas prices and a renewed debate about oil independence in the face of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Her previous public statements have failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation's critical energy needs," Manchin said in a statement on Monday announcing his opposition to Raskin's nomination. Manchin is not a member of the Senate Banking Committee that will be voting on Raskin's candidacy.

The US Chamber of Commerce already voiced concern over her nomination to be the vice chair of supervision -- essentially the Fed's top banking regulator -- in January. And a month ago, Senate Republicans boycotted a vote in protest of Raskin's nomination, halting a slate of pending nominees for the central bank.

The renomination of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for another term is also stalled. Even though Powell is enjoying support on both sides of the aisle, he hasn't been fully confirmed yet, leaving him with the title add-on "pro tempore" for now.

Sarah Bloom Raskin withdraws herself from consideration to the Federal Reserve Board - CNN

But Raskin, a former Fed governor who was deputy Treasury secretary during the Obama administration, faced stiff opposition in the Senate based on her stance on climate change and fear that she could discourage banks from lending to fossil fuel companies.

In her letter to Biden withdrawing her nomination, which was shared with CNN, she wrote that many "in and outside the Senate are unwilling to acknowledge the economic complications of climate change and the toll it has placed, and will continue to place, on Americans. "

"It was — and is — my considered view that the perils of climate change must be added to the list of serious risks that the Federal Reserve considers as it works to ensure the stability and resiliency of our economy and financial system," she added. "This is not a novel or radical position."

After Joe Manchin's rejection of her, President Biden looked for support among Republicans, but didn't find any.