Bush Bypasses Senate Foreign Relations Committee To Install ‘Loyalist’ In Arms Control Position

In the Washington Times this morning, Bush administration officials are boasting that they “outmaneuvered” the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “to install a loyalist in the top arms control post” at the State Department.

In Feb. 2007, President Bush nominated John C. Rood as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, a position previously held by former UN Ambassador John Bolton. Rood’s Senate confirmation stalled, however, after Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) and Ranking Republican Richard Lugar (R-IN) objected to his nomination.

The administration considered installing him as a recess appointment, but Biden said they would “not get another single nominee for anything at all” if they did. So instead, Bush simply appointed him as “acting” undersecretary, which doesn’t require confirmation:

But the White House then realized there was a way to put Mr. Rood in the position and still honor its commitment to the Senate. “In late September, the president decided to designate Mr. Rood as acting undersecretary,” an administration official said. [...]

The main issue now appears to be the length of the appointment. According to the 1868 Vacancies Act, it should not exceed 120 days. But the law allows for a longer period if the Senate takes no action on a pending nomination.

The installation of “loyalist” Rood is only the latest chapter in the Bush administration’s efforts to avoid Senate confirmation for positions that require it. In June, the Washington Post reported that Bush used recess appointments to place 105 people in full-time positions and 66 in part-time slots, which is more than Bill Clinton installed in his entire presidency. The New York Times notes:

With only 15 months left in office, President Bush has left whole agencies of the executive branch to be run largely by acting or interim appointees — jobs that would normally be filled by people whose nominations would have been reviewed and confirmed by the Senate.

In many cases, there is no obvious sign of movement at the White House to find permanent nominees, suggesting that many important jobs will not be filled by Senate-confirmed officials for the remainder of the Bush administration.

The President’s efforts to avoid Senate confirmation fights for his divisive nominees have become so bad that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will hold pro forma sessions over Thanksgiving break to deny Bush the opportunity.

Reid has good cause to worry. Dr. James Holsinger, Bush’s homophobic surgeon general nominee, has said he expects a recess appointment over the break.