On Tuesday, the Senate GOP–with the support of Democrats Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)–successfully filibustered the nomination of Craig Becker to serve a term on the National Labor Relations Board. All told, because of snow-related absences, 33 senators were able to block the confirmation of a nominee who had the support of a significant majority of members. That has many in Washington asking: Will President Obama offer Becker a recess appointment? Obama has thus far been reluctant to exploit that tool–but if he does, he can point to the record of his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who recess appointed seven of his nine NLRB nominees.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=130668