Several Biden Cabinet Nominees Face Confirmation Hurdles
Headline Roundup February 25th, 2021
Amid partisan divisions in Washington, several of President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees are facing hurdles during the Senate confirmation process.
Some on the left feel that nominees of color are encountering more pushback than their white counterparts. Some on the right feel that Democrats are using identity politics to defend more controversial Cabinet nominees from criticism.
Several Biden Cabinet Nominees Face Confirmation Hurdles
The Biden administration has fewer top government leaders in place than other recent presidents at this point in their terms, a pace that’s been slowed by a siege at the Capitol, an impeachment trial, a plague and a series of snowstorms.
But activists who pushed Biden to nominate a diverse Cabinet are also noticing another phenomenon: Many of the president’s Black, Latino, Asian and Native American nominees are encountering more political turbulence than their White counterparts, further drawing out the process of staffing the federal government.
Controversy has centered on...
Two of President Biden’s Cabinet nominees are slamming into confirmation hurdles on Capitol Hill, testing the White House’s ability to navigate a tenuous Senate majority amid deep partisan divisions in Washington.
Biden’s pick for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden, now appears unlikely to be confirmed after two Senate panels delayed business meetings to vote on her nomination Wednesday.
And Republicans are solidifying their opposition to Xavier Becerra, Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Rep. Deb Haaland (D.N.M.), whose prospects were uncertain...
Prominent Democrats in Washington are weaponizing identity politics to defend some of President Biden's most controversial Cabinet nominees from criticism.
Neera Tanden, Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M. and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra have all faced intense scrutiny for their policy positions and public statements, but some Democrats are suggesting that the nominees' critics are motivated by prejudice.
During Becerra's second confirmation hearing to become secretary of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., suggested that Becerra was "being held to a much different standard than...
