{"id":9231,"date":"2019-04-05T10:06:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T14:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsweb.wpengine.com\/?p=9231"},"modified":"2021-07-01T12:02:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T16:02:42","slug":"senate-changes-process-to-speed-presidential-confirmations-but-will-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/blog\/senate-changes-process-to-speed-presidential-confirmations-but-will-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate changes process to speed presidential appointee confirmations\u2014but will it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senate\nMajority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made headlines this week by triggering\nthe so-called nuclear option to change Senate precedent regarding debate time\nfor most nominees. The maneuver lowered post-cloture debate time to two hours,\ndown from the previous 30 hours.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How might the\nchange accelerate the confirmation of presidential nominees? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\nfactors<\/a> contribute to delaying confirmations, with Senate rules being one\nof them. Senate procedure allows any senator to object to moving a nomination forward,\neven for reasons unrelated to the nominee\u2019s qualifications. If negotiations to\nadvance a nomination fail, the Senate can end debate by invoking cloture, that\nis, bringing the nomination to a vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s\nSenate action limits debate time to two hours for all nominations except\nCabinet-level nominees, Supreme Court justices, Circuit court judges and\nseveral commission and board members. \nThe change is permanent, unlike a 2013 change that limited debate time\nbut expired at the end of the 113th<\/sup> Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the\nrecent change is likely to exacerbate partisan tensions in an already polarized\nSenate, it will likely speed confirmations. How much, however, remains to be\nseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April\n3, 283\nof the positions tracked by the Partnership for Public Service remain vacant<\/a>.\nOf those, 41 have nominees who were approved by a committee but await a full\nSenate vote. If the Senate invoked cloture on all those nominees, the new\ndebate time precedent could save the Senate over 1,000 business hours. In\ntoday\u2019s climate, nominations are more likely to face cloture votes; the Senate\nhas invoked cloture for 127 nominees during the first two years of President\nTrump\u2019s presidency, compared with 27 for the first two years of the preceding\nsix presidents combined.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nwhile reducing the time allowed for debate addresses one source of delay, other\nissues remain. For instance, nominations that are not confirmed by the end of\nthe Congress expire. In January of this year, when the 115th<\/sup>\nCongress ended, 137 nominations expired. The administration has resubmitted 113\nof them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, along\nwith the 41 nominees awaiting a full Senate vote, 91 nominees are waiting for a\ncommittee hearing or vote, and there is no official nominee for another 151 vacant\npositions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agencies operate more\neffectively when leadership positions are filled. And the government operates\nat its best when agencies have their leadership teams in place. With those\nfactors in mind, senators should work together to improve Senate processes for confirming\nnoncontroversial nominees. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made headlines this week by triggering the so-called nuclear option to change Senate precedent regarding debate time for most nominees. The maneuver lowered post-cloture debate time to two hours, down from the previous 30 hours.  How might the change accelerate the confirmation of presidential nominees? Many factors contribute to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sort-date":"","content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7586],"tags":[9177,9048,9178,9176],"class_list":["post-9231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","tag-appointees","tag-leadership","tag-nominees","tag-senate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSenate changes process to speed presidential appointee confirmations\u2014but will it work? • Partnership for Public Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week, the Senate triggered the nuclear option to accelerate the confirmation of presidential nominees, lowering post-cloture debate to two hours from 30. 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