Three ag nominees on ‘nuclear option’ list
Three of President Trump’s nominees for agriculture undersecretary positions are “on the list” of people who may come before the Senate next week after the Senate approved what’s known as the “nuclear option” to take up nominations in groups, a spokesperson for Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., told The Hagstrom Report today.
The nominees are Richard Fordyce to be agriculture undersecretary for farm production and conservation, Dudley Hoskins to be agriculture undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs and Scott Hutchins to be agriculture undersecretary for research, education and economics.
In an action that received widespread national press coverage, the Senate on Thursday voted 53 to 45 to change the chamber’s rules to approve nominations in groups rather than individually. There are 150 pending nominees throughout the government. In the past, nominees have often been confirmed by unanimous consent, but that hasn’t happened in this Congress. Democrats have insisted on individual consideration of nominations, which has slowed the process. Democrats have said some of Trump’s nominees are “historically bad” and needed individual consideration. Democrats have also said that Republicans will come to regret the rules change if there is a Democratic president and a Democratic-controlled Senate in the future.
The Senate is scheduled to go into session at 3 p.m. Monday and to hold a vote at 5:30 p.m. to formally adopt S.Res.377, the resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in executive session of certain nominations. The change excludes Cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices and federal judges, who must be confirmed one by one, The Washington Post noted.
Other nominees who may come up in en bloc to be confirmed include Calista Gingrich, a former House Agriculture Committee aide, to be U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.
