Under the guise of "streamlining", the U.S. Senate plans to remove congressional oversight of Presidential appointees, as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution. Several notable Republicans are on board, including Indiana's own Dick Lugar.
Senate Plans to Abdicate its Confirmation Duties
Senate Plans to Abdicate its Confirmation Duties
Today, Chuck Schumer, with the help of Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander, plans to vitiate one of the Senate’s few remaining constitutional duties; advising and consenting to presidential appointees. The Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act (S.679), which was never reported out of a committee, would eliminate the confirmation requirement for 200 presidential appointees. This bill would completely abrogate the safeguards against tyranny that were established in the “Appointments Clause” of the constitution. [The Heritage Foundation has a useful primer on the bill.]
The bill has seven Republican co-sponsors: Lamar Alexander, Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Mike Johanns, Jon Kyl, Richard Lugar, and Mitch McConnell.