The Senate wants to confirm Buttigieg and Mayorkas

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Mayorkas was one of President Joe Biden’s earliest announced nominees and would be the first Latino and immigrant to be at the helm of the department.
His affirmation will play a vital role in the new administration and is expected to quickly begin rolling back the Trump administration’s immigration policies as he juggles the response to a global pandemic, national security threats and the recovery. from a department that has been plagued by leadership turnover and job openings in recent years.

Mayorkas is the first Biden candidate to meet a Republican filibuster, and his confirmation vote comes after the Senate voted on Thursday to break a GOP filibuster and advance the nomination.

Biden’s nomination of Buttigieg as his transportation secretary will elevate the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top position in the federal government. Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ cabinet secretary.

The choice will vault a candidate that Biden spoke glowingly about after the primary to a top job in his upcoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats experience would be needed if he runs for president again.

The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden’s pursuit of a dual infrastructure package.

Biden Cabinet nominees Alejandro Mayorkas and Pete Buttigieg
Four of Biden’s 23 cabinet-level nominees requiring Senate approval have been confirmed so far: Antony Blinken as Secretary of State, Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury, Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense and Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has pushed for prompt confirmation from Mayorkas, but Republicans have argued that the candidate has not been properly vetted on immigration issues and have called for an additional hearing on his nomination, cutting efforts to prompt a critical review. leader of the country’s national security apparatus.

Under former President Barack Obama, Mayorkas was both Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an immigration agency within the department.

Republican pushback from his nomination sparked criticism from the Democrats, and some called it indefensible. The backlash comes as the Department of Homeland Security grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, national security concerns and immigration.

Last week, DHS released a threat bulletin over the ongoing potential for violence in the wake of the presidential inauguration, including concerns that domestic extremists may be encouraged by the attack on the Capitol earlier this month.

The department has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was impeached in spring 2019.

However, several Republican senators crossed party lines to vote with Democrats in support of breaking the nomination’s filibuster, including Sens. Mitt Romney from Utah, Susan Collins from Maine, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Rob Portman from Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia.

The use of the filibuster – to delay nominations or legislation – has long been a favorite tool of the minority party, something the Democrats often did when trying to derail and slow down the Republican agenda under then President Donald Trump.

While several of Biden’s nominees have been confirmed and moved at a slower pace than some of his predecessors’ cabinet choices, Republicans had not threatened to submit a nominee until Wednesday. Mayorkas is now the first.

The Senate’s Homeland Security Committee brought Mayorkas nomination to the floor and held a hearing that examined the nominee’s qualifications to lead the department.
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But some Republicans called for a separate hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in addition to his Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Several GOP senators, led by Texas Senator John Cornyn, called for the additional hearing, citing Mayorkas’s role in overseeing much of the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

“The Judiciary Commission has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to immigration and nationality … For this reason, all members of the Commission should have the opportunity to hear directly from Mr Mayorkas, and to communicate with him publicly. discuss his plans regarding the ministry’s immigration components and functions, ”said a letter from the senators requesting.

Cornyn told reporters last week “there are some issues” with the nomination for Mayorkas.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who will chair the judicial committee, told CNN of the request for a hearing, “I don’t see why that is necessary” and called it “completely political.”

“This is indefensible,” said Durbin. “We withhold leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.”

CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.

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