Senate confirmation hearings – News Stories About Senate confirmation hearings - Page 5

Mar 18, 2009 4:00 PM CDT

Senate OKs Ron Kirk as Trade Rep

Former Dallas mayor vows to enforce US export deals

(Newser) - The Senate today confirmed, in a 92-5 vote, former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as US trade representative, the Dallas Morning News reports. With global trade declining for the first time in 27 years, Kirk has vowed to make countries fulfill their trade promises to the US. Kirk paid the IRS...

Clinton Turns
Back on Burkle, $20M

Mar 16, 2009 9:05 AM CDT

Clinton Turns Back on Burkle, $20M

Amount owed from former business deal may have diminished with economy

(Newser) - Bill Clinton has called it quits with Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos, walking away from a payment once estimated at up to $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton began distancing himself from Yucaipa in 2007 as Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House heated up, and continued to...

CIA Hopeful Panetta Retracts Torture Remarks

Feb 6, 2009 1:15 PM CST

CIA Hopeful Panetta Retracts Torture Remarks

Backs off accusations that US deliberately sent suspects abroad

(Newser) - Leon Panetta today backed off on comments he made accusing the Bush administration of deliberately sending terror suspects abroad to be tortured, CQ Politics reports. "It's news to me," Sen Christopher Bond told the nominee to run the CIA. Panetta responded that he was referring to widely publicized...

Babs Backs Holder for AG

Jan 26, 2009 1:33 PM CST

Babs Backs Holder for AG

Streisand urges fellow lefties to fight for Obama nominee

(Newser) - Barbra Streisand is using her star power to push for the speedy confirmation of Eric Holder as attorney general, Politico reports. In a letter, Babs asks like-minded people to sign a petition supporting a man who is “committed to liberty, the rule of law, and our constitutional rights.”...

GOP Questions Put Brakes on Holder Vote

Jan 21, 2009 3:04 PM CST

GOP Questions Put Brakes on Holder Vote

Committee will wait week on AG nominee, infuriating chair Leahy

(Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed today’s scheduled vote on Eric Holder’s confirmation by another week, CNN reports. Republican members engineered the move, saying they have questions about the attorney-general nominee’s stance on interrogation techniques. Chairman Patrick Leahy, who said he was “extremely disappointed,” banged down...

Cornyn Yields;
Clinton Vote
Near

Jan 21, 2009 2:00 PM CST

Cornyn Yields; Clinton Vote Near

Confirmation of State nominee could come within hours

(Newser) - Republican Sen. John Cornyn removed his call for a roll-call vote in the confirmation of Hillary Clinton as secretary of State today, paving the way for a quick vote within two hours, the Hill reports. “I intend to vote for her confirmation,” Cornyn said, “but I also...

Geithner
Sorry,
Blames
TurboTax

UPDATED

Jan 21, 2009 10:50 AM CST

Geithner Sorry, Blames TurboTax

Treasury nominee, at confirmation hearings, apologizes for tax missteps

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner apologized for failing to pay $34,000 in taxes today in his Senate confirmation hearing. “I should have been more careful,” the would-be Treasury secretary said, calling them careless, avoidable mistakes. When asked how he prepared the taxes he replied, “I will answer that, but...

Geithner's Nomination Is Unlikely to Fail

ANALYSIS

Jan 21, 2009 8:44 AM CST

Geithner's Nomination Is Unlikely to Fail

Taxes, schmaxes: Senate wants to know if he can fix economy

(Newser) - The herculean task awaiting Timothy Geithner is so critical to the nation that a niggling detail like unpaid taxes is unlikely to derail his bid to head up the Treasury Department, writes Deborah Solomon in the Wall Street Journal. While senators will likely press Geithner about his missteps during his...

7 Nominees Confirmed;
Clinton Vote Tomorrow

Jan 20, 2009 4:58 PM CST

7 Nominees Confirmed; Clinton Vote Tomorrow

(Newser) - The Senate met after the inauguration today and promptly confirmed seven of President Obama’s nominees by unanimous vote, with the notable exception of Hillary Clinton, the Chicago Tribune reports. A vote on Clinton has been scheduled for tomorrow after Harry Reid and Sen. John Cronyn, who has concerns about...

Clinton, Cornyn Share Words

Jan 20, 2009 3:42 PM CST

Clinton, Cornyn Share Words

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton and John Cornyn shared some spirited words today after the inauguration, Politico reports. Cornyn is blocking a Senate vote today on Clinton’s confirmation as secretary of state over concerns about the transparency of Bill Clinton’s foundation. While the conversation seemed animated, a rep for Cornyn said...

Holder Slams
Rendition, Tribunals

UPDATED

Jan 15, 2009 4:07 PM CST

Holder Slams Rendition, Tribunals

Attorney-general nominee signals clear break with Bush practices

(Newser) - Attorney General-designate Eric Holder continued his forceful rebuke of Bush administration policies at his confirmation hearing today, Politico reports. Holder slammed rendition, saying it “should not be the policy or practice of our great nation,” and criticized the military commissions trying Guantanamo detainees. They don’t “have...

Schapiro Pledges to
'Reinvigorate' SEC

Jan 15, 2009 12:30 PM CST

Schapiro Pledges to 'Reinvigorate' SEC

Obama nominee wants better cooperation among agencies in nabbing next Madoff

(Newser) - Mary Schapiro, Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, told senators today she would make enforcement a top priority, CNN reports. Her confirmation hearing was also peppered with questions about how Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme slipped past regulators; Schapiro currently heads an industry watchdog group....

Holder:
Waterboarding Is Torture

Jan 15, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Holder: Waterboarding Is Torture

But supports FISA, Patriot Act

(Newser) - Eric Holder minced no words when asked about waterboarding in his confirmation hearing today. “Waterboarding is torture,” the AG-designate said, a declaration neither Michael Mukasey nor Alberto Gonzales was willing to make. He said that, even in emergencies, the president couldn’t override the constitution. Republicans also leapt...

Clinton Gets Group Hug in Senate Clubhouse

OPINION

Jan 14, 2009 11:42 AM CST

Clinton Gets Group Hug in Senate Clubhouse

(Newser) - For all the press and spectators vying to squeeze into the hearing room where Hillary Clinton testified yesterday,“there was no suspense inside,” writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. Grilling the secretary of State nominee gave way to congratulating a colleague, as senators slathered on the compliments...

'A-Student' Hillary Aces Her Senate Hearing

OPINION

Jan 14, 2009 8:07 AM CST

'A-Student' Hillary Aces Her Senate Hearing

Forget Geithner, it's Clinton who's queen of the 'hot nerds': Dowd

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton breezed through her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, writes Maureen Dowd, "performing as the A-student she always is" on topics from nuclear proliferation to governance in the Arctic. While Tim Geithner got caught up in controversy over back taxes, Hillary charmed the windy John Kerry and buttered the...

Clinton Promises 'Smart Power' in Cozy Hearing

Jan 13, 2009 10:04 AM CST

Clinton Promises 'Smart Power' in Cozy Hearing

Back-patting abounds

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton promised a new “smart power” era of US foreign policy today, advocating a mix of diplomacy and defense, in a decidedly friendly confirmation hearing today, the AP reports. “America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America,...

Kerry, Clinton Face Off at
State Hearings

Jan 13, 2009 7:23 AM CST

Kerry, Clinton Face Off at State Hearings

Foreign Relations chair says no sour grapes on being passed over

(Newser) - Today's confirmation hearings for Hillary Clinton also mark John Kerry's debut as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It could be an awkward meeting as she interviews for the job he openly campaigned for—after he dumped her to back Obama in the presidential race. But Kerry's putting a...

Gun Lobby Holds Up Bush ATF Nominee

Feb 25, 2008 2:15 PM CST

Gun Lobby Holds Up Bush ATF Nominee

Republicans hold fellow Republican's nomination hostage

(Newser) - Michael Sullivan has spent a long time waiting to become head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but his appointment has run into a roadblock in the Senate. Not with Democrats—with his fellow Republicans. Gun-rights supporters have blocked the appointment of Sullivan, also a US Attorney...