On the day that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) announced that he was becoming a Democrat, he also reaffirmed his opposition to President Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel, Dawn Johnsen (though he never explained why he opposed her). Greg Sargent reports that Specter’s office has left the door open for the senator to support a cloture vote on Johnsen:
Specter spokesperson Kate Kelly confirms to me that he could still vote Yes on the cloture vote to break the GOP filibuster and remains undecided on the question.
Specter has said he will vote No on the straight up-or-down vote on Johnsen. But he hasn’t said publicly whether he’ll cast the earlier procedural vote to bring her vote to the floor. Reid has said he doesn’t have the 60 votes necessary to clear that higher hurdle, and the hunt is on for a GOP Senator to help put Johnsen over the top.
As ThinkProgress pointed out this week, requiring a filibuster-proof majority to approve an OLC chief is a distinct break with precedent. Both of President Bush’s nominees, John Yoo and Jack Goldsmith, were confirmed with simple voice votes.
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