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Friday, November 19, 2010

Senate may hold weekend session to confirm stalled nominees

By Alexander Bolton - 11/17/10 05:40 PM ET

Democratic leadership aides are warning that the Senate may be in session over the weekend of Nov. 20 and 21 to deal with the backlog of President Obama’s nominations.
Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, said her boss sets the schedule. She added he has not announced any weekend work plans.
Forty-eight of Obama’s executive and judicial branch nominees were pending on the Senate’s executive calendar as of Wednesday morning.
The stalled nominees include Jacob Lew, Obama's choice to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana placed a hold on Lew's nomination in September to protest the administration's federal freeze on deepwater oil drilling.
The list also includes controversial judicial nominees such as Goodwin Liu, who has been picked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and John McConnell, who is up for the federal district court of Rhode Island.
 It’s not clear what nominees Reid would attempt to confirm during a weekend session. 

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