Barack Obama won a modest summer victory. A select number of his long-blocked nominees were Senate-confirmed just prior to the August recess. While scores of executive, regulatory and judicial vacancies remain, the confirmations were a welcome win in the appointment war. Our president must redouble his fight, as now the Tea Party-controlled House of Representatives also seeks to obstruct his appointments.
Obama entered the White House believing that he could break the 20-year cycle of partisan appointment obstruction. Instead, nominee abuse and confirmation obstruction substantially worsened. For 30 months, even the most qualified nominees were slow-walked, held hostage and filibustered. Obstruction reached absurdity in May, when pre-emptive filibusters were lodged against “any” potential director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
