Transition: Confirmation week
Posted: Monday, January 12, 2009 9:09 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Congress
Will Bill Clinton come with Hillary for Day One of her confirmation hearing? The Senate is wondering.
Here are some of the dates for the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings:
-- Tuesday, Jan. 13, 10:00 am ET: Education: Arne Duncan (HELP Committee)
-- Tuesday, Jan. 13: Energy Secretary: Steven Chu (Energy and Natural Resources Committee)
-- Tuesday, Jan. 13, 10 am ET: HUD: Shaun Donovan (Banking Committee)
-- Tuesday, Jan. 13, 9:30 am ET: State: Sen. Hillary Clinton (Foreign Relations Committee)
-- Wednesday, Jan. 14: Veteran Affairs: Gen. Eric Shinseki (Veterans' Affairs Committee)
-- Thursday, Jan. 15: Interior: Sen. Ken Salazar (Energy and Natural Resources Committee)
-- Thursday, Jan. 15: Attorney General: Eric Holder (Judiciary Committee)
-- Thursday, Jan. 15: Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee) (tentative)
-- Thursday, Jan. 15, 9:30 am: UN Ambassador: Susan Rice (Foreign Relations)
Here’s our bio for Duncan:
Nominee: Arne Duncan, Chicago public schools superintendent
Age: 44 (b. Nov. 6, 1964; Home: Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago)
Key Prior Jobs: 2001-present, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Public Schools; 1998-2001, director of magnet schools, deputy chief of staff to the Chicago schools chief, Paul G. Vallas; 1992-98, directed the Ariel Education Initiative, “which seeks to create outstanding educational opportunities for inner-city children on the City’s South Side”; 1987-91 (played professional basketball in Australia)
Education: B.A., Harvard, 1987 (sociology - magna cum laude)
Family: Married (Karen, who is Australian. Duncan met while playing basketball in Australia)
Potential Hold Ups: (1) Chicago: The Blagojevich scandal has cast a cloud over Illinois and the city of Chicago. Though Duncan is not viewed as being close to Blagojevich, he was raised in the Second City and questions may be asked about whatever ties he might have to the city’s political culture; (2) Little National Experience/Youth: Some could question whether the 44-year-old has the experience necessary to represent “the White House’s educational agenda before Congress and negotiating with the leaders of the 50 state school systems and the myriad interest groups that make up the educational establishment,” the New York Times writes; (3) Social Issues/Unions: Though union leaders say they find Duncan acceptable, there is still the potential that he is seen as too much of a reformer by the most liberal/establishment wing of the Democratic Party, and also could irritate social conservatives. He backed a plan for a gay-friendly high school that went unrealized, proposed paying students for grades -- something done in D.C. -- and tried to create a boarding school.
And here’s our bio for Chu:
Nominee: Steven Chu
Age: 60 (b. Feb. 2nd, 1948, St. Louis)
Key Prior Jobs: Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2004-present; Professor, Stanford University, 1987-2004; Electronic research laboratory director, AT&T Bell Labs, 1978-87
Education: B.A., University of Rochester, 1970; Ph.D. University of California at Berkley, 1976
Family: Married (Jean); two sons: Geoffrey and Michael (from a previous marriage)
Potential Hold Ups: (1) Yucca Mountain: Chu has expressed skepticism about the creation of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, taking a strong position (the same as Obama's), but some Republicans could have questions on it; (2) Gas Prices: He has advocated for gradual increases in gas prices to tamp down demand; (3) Ethanol, Coal: Chu disagrees with Obama on the issue of corn-based ethanol. Obama has lauded corn ethanol as an important alternative energy source. Chu has noted its pricey cost and called it "not the right crop for biofuels." Chu's also not a fan of coal as an energy source; he has called it his "worst nightmare"; (4) Lack of Administrative Experience? Some, including former EPA administrator Christie Todd Whitman, have wondered if Chu has the administrative and inside-the-Beltway experience to run a government agency.
