With it looking increasingly likely that NRLB appointee Craig Becker will be filibustered in the Senate, the president is threatening to make key appointments during the Presidents’ Day Congressional recess:
Obama said he asked GOP leaders during a meeting at the White House “to put a stop to these holds in which nominees for critical jobs are denied a vote for months.”
“If the Senate does not act, and I made this very clear, if the Senate does not act to confirm these nominees, I will consider making several recess appointments during the upcoming recess,” Obama said. “Because we can’t afford to allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government.”
The Senate is scheduled to be in recess next week.
While not mentioning him by name, Obama criticized Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, for putting a hold on all of his nominees as leverage to help his state.
“One senator, as you all are aware, had put a hold on every single nominee that we had put forward, due to a dispute over a couple of earmarks in his state,” Obama said.
Shelby has since released his hold on almost all of the nominees.