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 The Democratic show of force is expected to come to a close on
Saturday with the anticipated confirmation of an 11th Obama nominee
in three days — Jeh Johnson to serve as secretary of the Department
of Homeland Security.
"Every one of them will be confirmed," said Senate Democratic leader
Harry Reid.
At about 1 a.m. EST on Thursday, the Senate capped hours of debate
and confirmed the first nominee in its non-stop session — Nina
Pillard to the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, on a
vote of 51-44.
By late in the day, it approved five more:
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Chai Rachel Feldblum, of Washington, D.C., on a 54-41 vote, to be
a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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Elizabeth Wolford, of New York, on a 70-29 vote, to be a U.S.
district judge for New York's western district.
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Landya McCafferty, of New Hampshire, on a 79-19 vote, to be a U.S.
district judge for the district of New Hampshire.
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Patricia Wald, of Washington, D.C., to be a member of the U.S.
Privacy and Civil Rights Oversight Board, on a 57-41 vote.
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Brian Morris of Montana, on a 75-20 vote, to be a U.S. district
court judge in his state.
Democrats cleared the way by stripping Republicans last month of
their power to block nominees with a procedural roadblock known as a
filibuster.
Democrats, who hold the Senate 55-45, reduced from 60 to a simple
majority the number of votes needed to end filibusters against all
nominees except those for the Supreme Court.
CHARGES OF "OBSTRUCTIONISM" AND "POWER GRAB"
Democrats said they did it to combat "unprecedented obstructionism"
by Republicans that prevented Obama from getting much of his
second-term team in place.
Republicans charged that the rule change amounted to a "power grab"
that eroded the rights the Senate minority and will dramatically
alter how the chamber operates.
While Republicans can no longer filibuster the nominees, they can
still slow down the confirmation process by refusing to yield back
their allotted time to debate each pick — or simply talk about
whatever they want.
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Democrats accused Republicans of a "temper-tantrum talkathon" by
using much of their time to rip into Obama's healthcare program and
to denounce Democrats for the filibuster rule change.
"Shame on you," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South
Carolina, predicting that the change will lead to less
bipartisanship and a far more partisan judiciary.
"They have changed the face of the judiciary probably for ever,"
Graham said, adding future judicial picks will likely be those "most
faithful to the cause, not most faithful to the law."
The Senate is expected to take Sunday off and return early next week
to confirm about a dozen more nominees, likely beginning with Janet
Yellen to head the Federal Reserve and Robert Wilkins to the D.C.
Circuit Court.
"If we have to work through Christmas, we will work right through
Christmas," Reid said.
There are about 75 nominees pending before the Senate.
Any not confirmed by December 31, the end of this session of
Congress, will have to be renominated or withdrawn — unless they
receive unanimous consent of the Senate to remain where they are,
ready for consideration.
Traditionally there is a backlog of unconfirmed nominees at the end
of each year. But Republicans upset by the rule change may now be in
no mood to provide any unanimous consents so they can stay in line.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Eric Beech)
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