Senate Begins Setting Cabinet Confirmation Schedule
According to Reuters, the evolving schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, January 8, 10 a.m. EST: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary.
- Friday, January 9, 9:30 a.m. EST: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Rep. Hilda L. Solis as labor secretary.
- Friday, January 9, 10 a.m. EST: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Arne Duncan as education secretary.
- Tuesday, January 13, 10 a.m. EST.: Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Dr. Steven Chu as energy secretary.
- Thursday, January 15, 9.30 a.m. EST: Judiciary Committee on Eric Holder as U.S. attorney general.
- Thursday, January 15, 9:30 a.m. EST: Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Sen. Ken Salazar as interior secretary.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has agreed to stay on, so there is no confirmation needed.
Still to be scheduled:
- Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State - Foreign Relations Committee (which will need a new chair, as Joe Biden is the incoming vice president)
- Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health & Human Services - Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
- Shaun Donovan as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
- Tim Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury - Finance Committee
- Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation - Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee
- Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security - Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee
- Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce - Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee
- Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture - Agriculture Committee
The U.S. Constitution gives the Senate the authority to approve members of the president's cabinet. Given the overwhelming majority held by the Democrats (55-40-2), Barack Obama's nominations seem assured of passage. However, Attorney General nominee Holder will probably be questioned about his role in the controversial Clinton Administration pardon of Marc Rich. And Timothy F. Geithner, nominee for Treasury secretary, can expect tough questioning given dueling philosophies on how to kickstart the economy.
Several of the nominees will have to resign their Congressional seat should they be confirmed. The U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2, known as the Incompatibility Clause) forbids a member of Congress from also serving in the executive branch.
The U.S. Constitution also states that no Senator or Representative shall hold an executive office if that office was created or the salary raised "during the Time for which he was elected." In other words, a Congressman cannot vote in a raise and then change branches of government. This is because the founders worried about members of Congress creating new jobs and then taking them for themselves. James Madison proposed a one-year ban (not unlike the current bans on lobbying), but it was not incorporated. Strict Constitutionalists will gnash teeth over the nominations of Clinton, Salazar and Solis because the salary for their appointed positions was raised during their term of office, a violation of this portion of the "Incompatibility Clause."
See Obama's proposed executive team and learn about the president's cabinet.