Biden's Cabinet and Appointments

[AndyinPA]

Actually, he got a round of applause when he arrived this morning.

There's video, but I couldn't make it copy and paste here.

[Volkonski]

Jennifer Bendery
@jbendery
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham just voted "yes" on advancing Deb Haaland's nomination.

That's new.

[Estiveo]

Actually, he got a round of applause when he arrived this morning.

There's video, but I couldn't make it copy and paste here.

[AndyinPA]

Thank you!

[Reality Check]

Jennifer Bendery
@jbendery
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham just voted "yes" on advancing Deb Haaland's nomination.

That's new.

He voted yes on Garland too. I was rather surprised at that. Toomey has voted no on everyone that I have seen.

[pipistrelle]

Actually, he got a round of applause when he arrived this morning.

There's video, but I couldn't make it copy and paste here.

Apparently the clap in is traditional. The modest Barr decided to forego it. Enjoy this humorous look back at the beginning of his tenure. https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na- ... story.html

And he declined the traditional “clap in” where a newly confirmed attorney general walks through the building and subordinates applaud. Instead, Barr held a three-hour reception in his conference room.

[Reality Check]

And he declined the traditional “clap in” where a newly confirmed attorney general walks through the building and subordinates applaud. Instead, Barr held a three-hour reception in his conference room.

He reveres the Justice Department as an institution,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School and a friend.

Right there we knew Barr was going to be a biased piece of shit.

[Frater I*I]

"He reveres the Justice Department as an institution,”

Yeah, and I'm a Chinese jet pilot...

[sad-cafe]

Actually, he got a round of applause when he arrived this morning.

There's video, but I couldn't make it copy and paste here.

I saw it.

Made me cry

[pipistrelle]

I'm surprised Garland was confirmed so handily. QOP not as concerned as they should be? It sounds like he's got his priorities in order.

A few on Twitter were saying they don't trust Wray and would like to see him axed.

[AndyinPA]

https://truthout.org/articles/senate-co ... -interior/

The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick for the secretary of the interior, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) on Thursday with all Democrats and four Republicans voting to advance her confirmation, which will be on Monday. Haaland’s confirmation comes a day after the Senate confirmed Michael Regan to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Haaland, the first Indigenous person to be appointed to that position, has been celebrated by progressives as “a big deal.” When her nomination was announced, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) tweeted, “Historic appointment. A visionary Native woman in charge of federal lands. Unequivocally progressive. Green New Deal champion. Exquisitely experienced.”

[pipistrelle]

[Foggy]

A few on Twitter were saying they don't trust Wray and would like to see him axed.

Best thing I've heard about Wray so far ...

[Gene Kooper]

The U.S. Senate has on a 51 - 40 vote confirmed The Honorable Debra A. Haaland to serve as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior.

I am currently providing contract services to the Bureau of Land Management and am thrilled that I will complete my assignment under Secretary Haaland's tenure.

[AndyinPA]

[pipistrelle]

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html

The Senate confirmed William J. Burns as the next director of the CIA on Thursday, placing one of the country’s most experienced career diplomats in charge of the spy agency.

The chamber confirmed Burns by unanimous consent, an indication of broad bipartisan support.

Burns, who retired from the Foreign Service in 2014 after a three-decade career, will take over at the agency at a moment of high tension between the United States and Russia, where he once served as the U.S. ambassador.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... n-general/

The Senate on Tuesday voted 57 to 43 to confirm Vivek H. Murthy as United States surgeon general, ensuring that a top ally of President Biden will play a visible role in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

All 50 Senate Democrats and Independents voted to support Murthy, joined by seven Republicans.

“Glad he was confirmed today — and I’m looking forward to working with him to address this pandemic and the underlying health inequities it has made way worse,” tweeted Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, calling Murthy a “highly experienced, crisis-tested leader.”

[pipistrelle]

I gotta admit—thought there was going to be a lot more drama over these Cabinet and other confirmations.

[mojosapien]

Marty Walsh has been confirmed for Labor, leaving the City of Boston to swear in the first black female mayor in its history.

[Lani]

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... confirmed/

The Senate on Wednesday voted 52 to 48 to confirm Rachel Levine as the nation’s assistant secretary for health, making her the highest-ranking openly transgender official in U.S. history.

All Democrats and Independents voted to support Levine, with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) crossing the aisle to support her, prompting cheers from advocates who called the vote a breakthrough.

“I firmly believe that turning points, such as today’s Senate confirmation vote for Dr. Levine’s appointment, are powerful indications that this nation is truly heading down the pathway to lasting transgender equality,” said Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, who served in the Obama administration and was the first openly transgender official to work in the White House.

[Kendra]

Amazing
@maddow
story on opposition to DOJ nominee
@vanitaguptaCR
. Gupta's confirmation is opposed by Tx. Sen. Cornyn, who gave "lawman of the year" award to a cop Gupta exposed as a serial civil rights violator. Sen. Durbin says Gupta will get a vote tomorrow w/out more delay.

Do watch this segment from last night.

[AndyinPA]

[AndyinPA]

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/pl ... hip-492440

President JOE BIDEN is preparing to name Republican CINDY MCCAIN to a coveted ambassador post in Western Europe in what would be his administration’s first Republican appointee to a Senate-confirmed position.

McCain is undergoing vetting to be nominated for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme, a mission based in Rome, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. This comes after the administration declined to install at least one member from the opposing party in a Cabinet position — a practice of three consecutive presidents (BILL CLINTON, GEORGE W. BUSH and BARACK OBAMA) before DONALD TRUMP broke the streak.

Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. JOHN MCCAIN, gave Biden a critical boost in Arizona with her endorsement of the Democrat over Trump. Biden was the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state since Clinton in 1996.

McCain, 66, is undergoing a background check for the post. The Biden administration is expected to announce most of its ambassadors at the same time, rather than individually.