Via the NYT’s The Caucus: No Confirmation Vote for Clinton
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s smooth ride to confirmation as secretary of state hit a small bump on Tuesday as one of her Republican colleagues blocked a vote on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination, citing ethical questions arising from donors to her husband’s charitable foundation.Senator John Cornyn of Texas objected to including Mrs. Clinton’s name in a unanimous consent vote for several Cabinet nominees, scheduled for hours after the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, plans to hold a roll-call vote on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination on Wednesday, which she is expected to win easily.
A spokesman for Mr. Cornyn, Kevin McLaughlin, said, “this is not an effort to scuttle or block the nomination, but a legitimate policy difference. Senator Cornyn’s goal is to create transparency on all levels of government.”
Or, it is pointless grandstanding.
I have stated before that Clinton was not my first choice for the office and I would prefer the Bill’s foundation eschew all foreign donation during the time that Hillary is in office. However, she is qualified for the office and the donation issue is ultimately a minor one. As such, there is no reason not to let the new president have his his Secretary of State on day one and be done with it.
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January 20th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
The reliability of it is suspect, but Rush Limbaugh spoke of some type of post-inauguration confrontation today between Cornyn and Clinton.