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PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 10:02 AM Oct 2021

Empty DesksEmpty Desks at the State Department, Courte at the State Department, Courtesy of Ted Cruz

I missed this story from a couple days ago, not sure if it has been posted. I know I'm stating the obvious, but what a total jerk Ted Cruz is.

A bitter fight with Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, over a Russian gas pipeline has created what Biden officials call a personnel crisis, with Mr. Cruz delaying dozens of State Department nominees, including 59 would-be ambassadors, and vowing to block dozens more.

Democrats call Mr. Cruz’s actions an abuse of the nomination process and the latest example of Washington’s eroding political norms. They also say he is endangering national security at a time when only about a quarter of key national security positions have been filled.

While Mr. Cruz cannot entirely block Mr. Biden’s State Department nominees, he has greatly slowed the process by objecting to the Senate’s traditional practice of confirming uncontroversial nominees by “unanimous consent.” His tactic means that each nominee requires hours of Senate floor time while other major priorities, including President Biden’s domestic spending agenda, compete for attention.

“It’s really an undermining of the nation’s national security process,” said Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “What we have here is an unprecedented, blanketed holding of all nominees — regardless of whether they have anything to do with the policy issues at stake.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/02/us/politics/senate-confirmation-cruz-nominations.html?algo=combo_lda_channelsize5_unique_edimp_fye_step50_diversified&block=1&campaign_id=142&emc=edit_fory_20211002&fellback=false&imp_id=862514163&instance_id=41928&nl=for-you&nlid=144275770&rank=4®i_id=144275770&req_id=857568959&segment_id=70557&surface=for-you-email-wym&user_id=9300c9e86795a856411ac8bf084cff8b&variant=0_combo_lda_channelsize5_unique_edimp_step50_diversified


Do these fools every actually WORK? The worst obstructers in congress seem to always be running for office. Apparently Josh Hawley is pulling similar garbage, trying to keep his name and face in the spotlight.

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