Obama nominee's fate in flux as labor lawyer loses GOP support

[babylonsister]

Obama nominee's fate in flux as labor lawyer loses GOP support
By Kevin Bogardus - 02/04/10 01:27 PM ET


Two Senate Republicans who previously supported a controversial labor board nominee opposed him on Thursday, putting his confirmation in doubt.

Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) backed Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board during his approval vote at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee last fall. But his nomination stalled under heavy lobbying by business groups. Becker had to be re-nominated by President Barack Obama this year, and the nominee lost Enzi's and Murkowski’s support in a party-line vote taken by the committee Thursday.

The HELP panel advanced Becker's nomination on a 13-10 vote. But Democrats are about to lose their filibuster-proof majority with the arrival of Scott Brown, the newly elected Massachusetts Republican who is being sworn in to the Senate later on Thursday. That leaves Becker's fate in flux.

Becker, an associate general counsel to both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO, is viewed by business trade groups as someone who could institute parts of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) through executive action if confirmed. The bill is favored by unions but opposed by the business community.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/79781-obama-nominees-confirmation-in-doubt-as-labor-lawyer-loses-gop-support

[bluescribbler]

1. Call their bluff

Make them filibuster. Dammit, Brown wanted to be sworn in today, just so he could block this appointment. :puke:

[still_one]

2. So Mr. President, how is that bipartisanship working out for you? /nt

[Phx_Dem]

3. Recess appointment. I don't generally like them, but enough is enough.