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Trump Appointments Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2017 21 Comments
Ballotpedia is one of our favorite reference websites. It is like Wikipedia for politics, but more in-depth and reliable. Ballotpedia just released a statistical analysis of federal judicial vacancies as Trump enters office, and likely to become available during his term. That takes on great importance given that Democrats in 2013 busted the filibuster ("went nuclear") for judicial nominees below the Supreme Court level, and even as to the Supreme Court it's likely Republicans might go nuclear. So to the extent federal judicial vacancies currently exist or become available in the next four years, Trump should be unstoppable in filling those seats (unless Republicans lose the Senate in 2018, which is unlikely). We pointed out the magnitude of this late last year, Dems’ Nuclear Option will allow Trump to fill over 100 court vacancies quickly.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 18, 2017 24 Comments
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the EPA, will face the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at 10AM EST. This has potential to become one of the more feisty confirmation hearings because of his ties to everything Democrats hate: fossil fuels, skeptical of man-made climate change, and lawsuits against the EPA. Please watch live with us below and follow along as I live blog the hearing!

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 17, 2017 4 Comments
Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for education secretary, has her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at 5PM ET. The Democrats picked her as one of the eight nominees they want to grill the most. DeVos has remained an advocate for school choice and used money to help establish charter schools in Detroit, MI. Of course, the Democrats have concerns over her massive donations to Republicans, including some that sit on the panel, and the Republican National Committee. We'll be liveblogging beneath.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 13, 2017 13 Comments
Comedian Steve Harvey had a meeting at Trump Tower Friday. There, Harvey met with President-elect Trump and Head of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson. Harvey described Trump as "sincere" and that his only agenda is to work towards positive change in inner cities. Both Chicago and Detroit will be targeted. But Harvey wants to help young people out in inner cities across the country.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 13, 2017 17 Comments
The media has gone ballistic during the first week of confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees since the most of them have different views than Trump. Trump has shown thin skin with those who disagree with him so of course the press has attempted to stir the pot even more, but it has not worked.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 17 Comments
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a waiver by a vote of 24-3 allowing Gen. James Mattis to serve as President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense. Becuase he retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, he needed the waiver to bypass a rule stating an individual must be out of the service for seven years before serving a new appointment. Only Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal, and Elizabeth Warren voted against the waiver. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said the committee should pass the legislation "because the U.S. is at war and the Trump administration needs Mattis as quickly as possible."

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 11 Comments
Former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Housing and Urban Development Secretary, will have his confirmation hearing today at 10AM ET in front of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Carson turned down Trump's request to leads the Human and Health Services, but accepted the HUD nomination. He often fought with Trump in the primary and even said he would never work in Trump's administration. Trump chose Carson for "his 'brilliant mind' and passion about 'strengthening communities and families within those communities.'" Carson has said:
"I grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there, and have dealt with a lot of patients from that area and recognize that we cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities," he said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 12, 2017 44 Comments
Meow. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) came out with the claws during the hearing for former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state. Rubio started by asking Tillerson if he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Tillerson, who ran a company that had many deals with Russian STATE OWNED companies, refused to take the bait:
"I would not use that term," Mr. Tillerson said.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2017 19 Comments
My favorite part of the confirmation hearings so far has been Ted Cruz's statement opening his questioning of Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions. It is some of the best 5 minutes of video I've seen in a long time, and reminds me of why I supported Cruz during the primaries. And would love to see him on the Supreme Court. Cruz used his time to skewer the Democrats on the committee for their false posturing (transcript via Conservative Review and IJR):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2017 47 Comments
New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker made "history" today by testifying against a fellow Senator -- Jeff Sessions -- in a confirmation hearing. I noted yesterday that This must mean Cory Booker is running for President in 2020 This was the first time such Senator against Senator testimony had ever happened. Booker tried to make it seem as if he was doing something heroic, as if the choice was between remaining completely silent or taking the witness stand:

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 11, 2017 16 Comments
Former CEO ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of State, will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today for his confirmation hearing. You can expect him to face questions about Russia since ExxonMobil has agreed to numerous deals with Russian state companies to drill in the Arctic. Questions will also include topics like climate change and human rights. You can watch the confirmation with us as I live blog.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 11, 2017 5 Comments
General John Kelly, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, had his Senate confirmation hearing, which went off without a hitch. In fact, Kelly received massive praise from both sides of the aisle Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) considers Kelly a "good choice for Secretary of Homeland Security." https://twitter.com/clairecmc/status/818950860961103872

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 10, 2017 6 Comments
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) faced an all day confirmation hearing for attorney general in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The senators had a blast asking Sessions the same questions over and over. Some asked valid questions while others asked obscure questions that made you scratch your head. But overall, Sessions promised he would uphold all the laws, even those he opposed as a senator. He promised he would stand up to President-elect Donald Trump and keep politics out of his decisions.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2017 30 Comments
Does it get more craven than Cory Booker securing his place in history by becoming the first Senator ever to testify against a fellow Senator during confirmation hearing? It should happen on Wednesday. Are there not enough people already calling Sessions names that Booker has to add his voice? CNN reports:

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 10, 2017 33 Comments
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has begun his confirmation hearing for attorney general. We have a live stream in this post. This is expected to be one of the most tense confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet. The Democrats will ask Sessions about his record on civil rights and female rights. However, the GOP holds the majority in the Senate so more than likely he will receive confirmation.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 09, 2017 6 Comments
Jared Kushner, husband of Trump's oldest daughter Ivanka, was appointed a Senior Adviser to president-elect Trump, news outlets reported Monday afternoon. Kushner married Ivanka in 2009. The couple have three children together. Kushner owns the New York Observer and played a key role in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Before assuming the role of Senior Advisor Kushner must traverse two fairly significant hurdles -- federal anti-nepotism laws and his participation in Trump-family businesses that might be a conflict of interest to his tentative White House gig.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 06, 2017 33 Comments
The Senate Republicans have ticked off the Senate Democrats because they scheduled six Cabinet confirmation hearings next Wednesday. Oh, and President-elect Donald Trump will also hold his first press conference next Wednesday. Plus, the confirmation schedule includes the nominees the Democrats planned to target the most: attorney general, secretary of state, CIA director, education secretary, and transportation secretary. The Democrats wanted to drag out the process, make it as hard as possible to confirm Trump's Cabinet. On January 1, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told The Washington Post that his party would "resist" any attempts by the Republicans to rush through the process.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 04, 2017 48 Comments
We have covered many times how Democrats laid the foundation for Republicans to use the Nuclear Option for a Trump Supreme Court nominee. That Nuclear Option would construe Senate Rules to only require 51 votes for cloture, effectively eliminating the filibuster, the 60-vote requirement to close debate. The foundation was laid in 2013, when Democrats, who then controlled the Senate and presidency, used the Nuclear Option to eliminate the filibuster for almost all Obama nominees. Harry Reid was gloating about going nuclear. Republicans warned that Democrats would regret the day.
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