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Republicans block Hillary appointment
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Senator Hillary Clinton
To no ones surprise, Republican senators blocked Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State while confirming the six other nominees without questions. Although it might have been put off for a day, it was a show of muscle-flexing by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) who side tracked the vote. Cornyn's excuse was the he still had concerns about foreign donations to the foundation headed by President Bill Clinton.
After confirming Steven Chu to be energy secretary, Arne Duncan at education, Janet Napolitano for homeland security, Eric Shinseki to head veterans affairs, Ken Salazar for interior, Tom Vilsack at agriculture and Peter Orszag to head the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Crornyn balked at a voice vote for Clinton. In the Senate, a single senator can block measures from being approved by voice.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Cronyn insisted he wanted a "full and open debate and and up-and-down-vote on Sen. Clinton's nomination. His excuse was that important questions remain unanswered concerning the foundation. Cronyn's said he wanted to "know more about the foundation's acceptance of donations from foreign countries. Transparency transcends partisan politics and the American people want to know more." Several other Republican senators, including Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) joined Cronyn in raising questions about the foundation.
After three hours of debate, Senate leaders agreed to have a roll call vote on Clinton on Wednesday and Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted she will receive overwhelming bipartisan support at that time. Meanwhile, the petulant Republicans let it be known they can still cause mischief although it may be that the timing is wrong as the American public increasingly wants the House and Senate to get on with their jobs.
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