Quote:
Originally Posted by janmcn
The surgeon general position has been vacant because Senator Rand Paul blocked President Obama's nominee last February because of pressure from the NRA. Google has many hits on this information.
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The position is vacant due to Harry Reid tabling the nomination because he did not want to have this young inexperienced man to become an issue in the election.
It cannot be blocked, as the Democratics have total control over the senate, and Mr. Reid also changed the rules a while back so only a simple majority is required. He, and the party decided not to push it, but they could have and can.
This is NOT political.....simply correcting a
very incorrect fact previously posted. Trying to stay non political, but the mention of Paul, without those of the other party who joined him in blocking the vote initially would be a total violation of posting facts instead of political conjecture
Previous Senate guidelines would have required Reid to round up 60 votes to overcome filibusters and advance to the final stage, but the Senate approved new rules in November that allow the process to move forward with a simple majority voting for cloture — the old rules still apply for Supreme Court nominees.
Paul’s hold only makes the confirmation process more difficult rather than halting it
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...b28_story.html