Last November’s election gave Democrats an additional seat in the Senate, a welcome cushion for the party that should have made it easier to confirm President Joe Biden’s executive and judicial nominees.
But in recent weeks, two of Biden’s top nominees have withdrawn their names from consideration for jobs in the administration and two others could be in jeopardy.
The problem stems from a mix of absences — Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) both dropped out for health reasons, and Democrats didn’t get the 50 votes needed for confirmation — as well as discord in the Democratic caucus.
Over the weekend, Phil Washington, Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, withdrew from the offer after Republican senators expressed concern along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Gigi Sohn, Biden’s longtime candidate for the Federal Communications Commission, did the same earlier this month.
Julie Su, Biden’s choice to lead the Labor Department and the favorite progressive choice, also faced skepticism from some moderate Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin (DW. Va.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). Su met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) on Tuesday and is expected to receive a hearing next month.
“Still looking at it. No decision has been made,” Tester told reporters when asked about the nomination.
“There are concerns, I’m sure,” added Manchin, who also vowed not to advance in a separate Biden nomination to oversee oil and gas leases at the Interior Department.
Meanwhile, Michael Delaney, Biden’s nominee for the US First Circuit Court of Appeals, is facing scrutiny from some Democrats and progressive groups over his handling of school sexual assault cases. Top Democrats stood by Delaney, but the Senate Judiciary Committee has not been able to proceed with the nomination due to the absence of Feinstein, who is still recovering from a shingles attack.
Republicans say Democrats need to do a better job of fielding qualified candidates, though they haven’t always done so when they control the upper chamber under President Donald Trump.
“The Biden administration needs to do a better job of vetting candidates and selecting people with real qualifications instead of coming up with some list of criteria that meet the liberal base,” said Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), pointing to a Biden judicial nominee who had trouble answering questions about the US Constitution at confirmation hearings.
Despite the potential hang-up with Delaney’s nomination, Democrats have largely succeeded in pushing Biden’s judicial nominees quickly. The Senate has confirmed more judges (118) this time in the presidency than in the previous three administrations, according to it data provided by Schumer’s office. The majority of these new judges are women and people of color.
Democratic senators downplayed the speed bump in the confirmation process on Tuesday.
“It’s a fairly recent incident that the third party is expected to line up behind the presidential candidate and when there is any diversion it’s big news,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. “I think it’s a bad thing that you sometimes have a Democrat who disagrees with the president’s choice. It’s a rare story, it’s not a rare story.”