Biden Labor Nominee Fails Vote, 44-51

Joe Biden continues to have problems getting his nominees passed through the Senate.

And this is not Republicans blocking his nominees, but Democrats who are adamant the nominee just does not have the experience.

When the vote was taken, in addition to four Democrats not being present, two Democrat Senators voted against the nominee, with Senator Schumer (D-N.Y.) flipping his vote to a “no” just before voting closed so he could refloor the nomination at a later time.

Move On

Jose Javier Rodriguez’s nomination as assistant secretary of labor has been stuck in the Senate since July 2021.

As the Labor Department’s number two, he would oversee the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration.

That is a scary prospect to some Democrats, notably Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

When asked why he was blocking the nominee, Manchin’s office stated that there was concern about political affiliations as well as lack of experience.

Prior to being nominated, Rodriquez worked as a workers’ rights attorney as well as having served as a state senator in Florida.

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority, so even if all four missing Democrats were present, Schumer still needs to convince either Menendez or Manchin to vote “yes,” but neither seems to be inclined to do so at the moment.

If that situation changes and one of them flips, Kamala Harris would then hold the tiebreaker vote.

With more than two years in limbo, however, Biden would be best served to move on.

This continues to be a problem for Biden, as his party is doing more damage than Republicans on appointments.

Biden has appointed numerous people who appear to be more activist than expert, and they are all being exposed during the nomination process.

While Democrats have been passing unqualified judges through the judiciary, they are at least standing firm on administration nominations, although the judiciary appointments are likely to do far more damage to this country.