Quote:
Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl
I'm actually curious what "obstructions" Democrats can do with the cabinet. I know I've heard they've been "obstructing" but what specific procedural things have they been doing?
My basic understanding is that they are using rules that require that, say, a certain amount of time passes between a committee vote and the full floor vote, or that up to 30 hours of floor debate may occur before the vote can be held. You can take shortcuts with some of these procedures, but doing so typically requires unanimous consent, and the Dems are withholding that.
So they are not really blocking the nominees because they don't have the votes, but they are insisting that every procedural i and t is dotted or crossed, which makes everything take more time.
(Also, some of the nominees took longer than usual to fill out the disclosure forms, probably because many of them had very complex finances).