A bipartisan agreement by the Senate leadership announced Wednesday would exempt an additional six Justice Department positions from the confirmation process.
In total, an additional 200 executive nominations would no longer have to be confirmed. The agreement was to be introduced in legislative form Wednesday.
The deal was part of a “gentlemen’s agreement” struck at the start of the 112th Congress. The deal included agreements on a more open amendment process and a plan to make it easier to bring a bill to the floor. While the deal included an agreement not to stage a filibuster on a motion to proceed to bills, it does not address some of the larger problems that reformers had sought to solve. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) had threatened to attempt to overhaul Senate rules to make it easier to end filibusters, but backed off as a result of the deal.
Supporters of filibuster reform and the process by which senators may place “holds” on nominations have complained that the conformation process had bogged down for many nominees, including those selected as federal judges. The new deal does not affect judicial nominees.
If the bill passes, the following positions would be exempted from the confirmation process:
–Assistant Attorney General – Legislative Affairs, Department of Justice
–Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics
–Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance
–Director, National Institute of Justice
–Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
–Director, Office for Victims of Crime
This is a step in the right direction. Now let’s add in 94 U.S. attorneys and 94 U.S. marshals. These folks should not be political and should not be making policy.