GOP blocks slate of banking nominees
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Wednesday blocked a Democratic push to confirm a handful of nominees that have stalled before the panel.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the ranking member of the committee, tried to get unanimous consent to confirm Adam Szubin’s nomination to be under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes at the Treasury Department and Patricia Loui-Schmicker to be on the board of directors for the Export-Import Bank.
{mosads}He also tried to get unanimous consent to confirm Adewale Adeyemo to be assistant secretary for international markets and development at the Treasury Department, Amias Gerety to be the assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department, Therese McMillan to be the administrator for the Federal Transit Administration and Jay Lerner to be the inspector general for the FDIC.
“All these nominees have had hearings. They have all completed a fair and thorough committee vetting process. They are ready to be approved,” Brown said. “Senate Banking is the only committee in the Senate that has not yet held a single vote on any administration nominee in this Congress.”
But Shelby objected to each of the nominations, though he didn’t detail why he was blocking them.
Democrats have repeatedly accused Republicans of trying to slow the pace of Obama nominations since taking over the Senate in January. Brown, separately, told reporters last month that Republicans are holding “our national security apparatus hostage to political demands.”
Szubin is currently in his role at the Treasury Department in an “acting” capacity, but Brown added on Wednesday that he would be able to “do his job better” if he was confirmed.
The committee was scheduled to vote on his nomination last month, but that hearing was postponed and hasn’t been rescheduled.
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