REALITY BYTES: Bush may be busy while Congress is away

[babylonsister]

REALITY BYTES: Bush may be busy while Congress is away

By Michael Welles Shapiro


WASHINGTON | For many, August is reserved for going fishing or laying on the beach.

For President Bush, it is for clearing brush and appointing judges and executive agency officials while Congress is out of town.

As members of Congress take a monthlong vacation, the Bush will be tempted to appoint officials and judges to vacant positions. With Congress out of town, the president doesn’t have to worry about a controversial appointee getting voted down by the Senate.

Constitutionally, the Senate is supposed to offer advice and give consent for presidential appointees. But these days, “advice" and “consent" can subject a favored judicial appointee to a drawn-out browbeating from aggressive senators. Consent can mean stalling a controversial presidential choice in committee or simply rejecting the nominee.

In recent years, rejections and endless delays have become more and more common in the Senate when a presidential choice is deemed unsuitable.

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http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20070729/NEWS/707290339/-1/NEWS03

[Newsjock]

1. What happened to Reid's cunning plan to block recess appointments?

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/20/reids-plan-to-block-bushs-recess-appointments

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has a little trick up his sleeve that could spell an end to President Bush’s devilish recess appointments of controversial figures like former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton.” U.S. News reports:

We hear that over the long August vacation, when those types of summer hires are made, Reid will call the Senate into session just long enough to force the prez to send his nominees who need confirmation to the chamber. The talk is he will hold a quickie “pro forma” session every 10 days, tapping a local senator to run the hall. Senate workers and Republicans are miffed, but Reid is proving that he’s the new sheriff in town.

[babylonsister]

2. That's a great idea; I hadn't heard that. Thank you! nt