Stop the presses!
A man-bite-dog moment at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
The normally grid-locked U.S. Senate — Democrats, Republicans, independents — came together and overwhelmingly passed a bill to reduce its workload, curb its power and perhaps even decrease partisan fighting.
Drafted by the chamber’
s party leaders, the measure, which now goes to the House of Representatives for anticipated final congressional approval, would slash the number of presidential appointees who need Senate confirmation.
More specifically, it would eliminate the confirmation requirement for about 200 of the 1,200 posts in the executive branch as well as for more than 2,800 members of the U.S. Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Officer Corps.
Judicial nominees, along with senior department personnel, so-called policy makers, would still need Senate confirmation.
But it would no longer be required for those on part-time boards or commissions or for lower-level adminstrators.
Never mind that it hasn’t happened yet. Lawmakers want to make sure everyone knows who is responsible if it does.
