(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) A pair of key presidential nominees face Senate confirmation Tuesday, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushes through a last-minute round of votes before ceding control of the chamber to Republicans next month.
As part of an agreement reached over at the weekend between Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate will hold afternoon votes on Antony Blinken’s nomination to be deputy secretary of state. Hours later, senators will consider Sarah Saldaña’s bid to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE. Both are expected to be confirmed along partisan lines.
Republicans opposed both nominees and had expected to run out the clock until the new Congress convenes next month. But after a Friday deal between party leaders to pass a massive government spending bill and then adjourn for the year collapsed, Reid unexpectedly had the time and leverage to bring up votes on Blinken and Saldaña.
