Six Obama cabinet nominees confirmed
Posted: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 4:06 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Ken Strickland and Domenico Montanaro
The Senate confirmed six of Obama's Cabinet nominees, plus Peter Orszag for OMB Director. (Though OMB is cabinet-rank, it is not an official cabinet post.)
This makes one fewer secretary confirmed for Obama by inauguration day than for George W. Bush by inauguration day 2001 -- so far.
The members were confirmed by unanimous vote. They were: Steven Chu (Energy), Arne Duncan (Education), Janet Napolitano (Homeland security), Ken Salazar (Interior), Eric Shinseki (Veterans Affairs), Tom Vilsack (Agriculture).
The final Senate confirmation vote on Hillary Clinton will be some time tomorrow after three hours of debate.
Others big name nominees still awaiting confirmation include Tom Daschle (HHS), Tim Geithner (Treasury), Susan Rice (UN) and Eric Holder (Justice).
"Twelve of President Ronald Reagan's 14 Cabinet members were confirmed within two days of his first inauguration in 1981, while 13 of President Bill Clinton's 15 Cabinet members were confirmed within one day," Reuters reported. "President George W. Bush's Cabinet took longer to seat, with seven winning confirmation the first day and the rest approved within 11 days, according to Senate Democrats."