The Week Ahead (Jan.12-16)
January 9, 2009
10:00 AM
Ø On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the full committee will welcome Dr. Stephen Chu of California, whom President-elect Obama has said he will nominate to be Secretary of the Department of Energy. (Dirksen 366 at 10:00 a.m.)
Ø On Thursday, Jan. 15, the full committee will welcome Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, whom President-elect Obama has said he will nominate to be Secretary of the Department of the Interior. (Dirksen 366 at 9:30 a.m.)
Bonus …
Both of next week’s hearings are on expected nominations to Cabinet positions. Some reporters have wondered how this process works before inauguration day. As always, the Congressional Research Service has the answer:
Under regular procedure, Senate action on nominations is triggered by the President’s submission of a nomination to the Senate. (Prior to Jan. 20, a President-elect does not have the authority to submit nominations to the Senate; that power is held by the sitting President until the new President is sworn in.) During recent transitions, however, the Senate has developed a flexible, informal process to allow quick action on nominations to Cabinet and other high-level jobs, developing a method for allowing its committees to act on an “anticipated” or “expected” nomination. Senate committees held hearings on most nominations to Cabinet positions at the outset of the Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations before inauguration day.
# # #
