Senate’s election break leaves 31 civilian nominees, including CFPB and surgeon general picks, waiting until Nov. 9

By Sofia Linwood

WASHINGTON — With the Senate out for the election, 31 civilian nominees who have already cleared committee are waiting for floor votes, according to the Senate’s list of pending civilian nominations. They include President Trump’s picks to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to be surgeon general and to be deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. Two ambassador nominees, Kari Lake and Douglas Mastriano, have been on the list since July.

The Senate met Thursday for a pro forma session in which “no business was conducted,” and it has scheduled four more such sessions through Nov. 5, the Senate Daily Press reported. The chamber returns for business Nov. 9 at 3 p.m., when it is set to vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, the vehicle for a permitting bill. No nominations can be confirmed before then.

The full list is in the Executive Calendar dated Oct. 22, the Senate’s daily record of business awaiting floor action.

Who is waiting

The longest-pending civilian nominations were reported on July 22. Lake is the nominee for ambassador to Jamaica, and Mastriano is the nominee for ambassador to Slovakia. Both were reported by Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) without a printed report. Jeffrey Brodsky and William Gallo, nominated as Postal Service governors, were reported the same day.

The September group includes Brian Johnson of Ohio, nominated to be CFPB director for a five-year term to replace Rohit Chopra. Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) reported the nomination Sept. 17. Nicole Saphier of New Jersey, nominated to be surgeon general “vice Vivek Hallegere Murthy, resigned,” was reported Sept. 30 by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Gerard Klomp of Utah, nominated to be deputy secretary of HHS, was reported by Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) Sept. 24.

Judicial nominees are also waiting. Daniel Desmond Domenico, nominated to the 10th Circuit to replace Timothy M. Tymkovich, has been on the calendar since July 23. Anna St. John, nominated to the 5th Circuit to replace Kurt D. Engelhardt, and Gregory Carl Cook, nominated for the Northern District of Alabama, were reported Sept. 24. So were four U.S. Sentencing Commission nominees: John Peter Cronan, Jason Manion, Claire McCusker Murray and Luis Felipe Restrepo. Murray and Restrepo are reappointments.

Two U.S. attorney nominees and four U.S. marshal nominees are also pending. So are four more HHS nominees: Kaufman, Ge Bai, Timothy Westlake and Mary Lazare. The rest of the list includes James Gadwood for IRS chief counsel, Andrew A. De Mello for the Tax Court and two National Mediation Board nominees, Douglas Ralph and Loren E. Sweatt.

The military list

The military backlog is larger. By the Inquisitor’s count of the calendar, 166 military nomination lists, covering 6,830 officers, were on the Secretary of the Senate’s desk as of Oct. 22. Nominations in that section, mostly routine promotions, are listed by reference rather than printed in full. The lists include 3,306 Air Force officers, 1,742 in the Navy, 1,337 in the Army, 440 in the Space Force, three Marines and two in the Coast Guard. Another 26 military entries, mostly general and flag officer nominations, were reported to the floor.

One military nomination has a public hold. The calendar’s “Notice of Intent to Object” section lists Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), as of March 24, for the nomination of Thomas P. MacNeil to a temporary appointment as a Navy commander. The notice gives no reason.

Privileged nominations

The calendar’s privileged section lists seven nominations. Under a 2011 Senate resolution, these get expedited handling, and any senator can ask that one be sent to committee. They include two nominations of Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to the boards of the Inter-American Foundation and the African Development Foundation. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) asked for the Inter-American Foundation nomination to go to committee on Jan. 15, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) did the same for the African Development Foundation post on Jan. 28. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) asked on Sept. 14 for a committee referral of Leslie Becera, nominated to be an assistant secretary of Transportation.

The Senate can take up any of these nominations after Nov. 9. Under Senate Rule XXXI, nominations not acted on during a session cannot be considered in the next one unless the president submits them again.

Requests for comment

The Inquisitor is asking the offices of Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) whether nominations will move when the Senate returns. It is also seeking comment from Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) about the judicial nominees and to HELP Chairman Cassidy about the health nominees. It is also asking Kaine about the Vought referral and Wyden about the MacNeil notice. Responses will be added to this story.

Photo: Desks in the U.S. Senate chamber. United States Senate photo via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.