The keywords for Democrats in Congress over the past two and a half years have been delay and obstruct, and whether as the majority in the House or the minority in the Senate, elected Democrats have used every tool at their disposal to get in the way of virtually every move made by President Donald Trump.
One of the most significant obstacles to the Trump agenda is New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who has worked assiduously to stall and even block numerous hearings and confirmation votes on key appointees to the administration, a tactic that is now being widely criticized.
Strategy of obstruction
The Daily Caller reported that Menendez, as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been holding up the process of holding hearings and confirmation votes for a number of key administration appointees, most recently Kelly Craft, the current ambassador to Canada who has been chosen by the president to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Craft was first nominated for the important position in early May and had a hearing before the committee in early June. Unfortunately, Menendez has blocked Craft from receiving a vote in the committee that would allow her nomination to move to the Senate floor for a full vote on her confirmation.
Menendez has demanded more information about Craft’s activities and travel while serving as the ambassador to Canada, and has said, “The bottom line is, without the full record, we can’t evaluate it.”
It is hoped that Craft can be fully confirmed prior to the August recess so that she can be ready to serve for the U.N.’s General Assembly meetings in New York City in September, and while her nomination is listed on the agenda for upcoming committee meetings, Menendez has yet to sign off for her nomination to proceed to the next phase of confirmation process.
Senate aide exposes Menendez
An unnamed Senate aide told The Daily Caller of Menendez’s delay tactics, “Committee members have a right and responsibility to vote, and Menendez is actively working to deny not only votes but also hearings.”
“Menendez is corrupting the historic integrity of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and taking away the tradition of comity that has been a hallmark of this committee’s work,” the aide added.
With regard to Menendez’s excuse that more information was needed about Craft before a vote could be held, the aide said, “He obstructs by saying he needs more information, but then he moves the goalposts after the majority has gone to great lengths to get his initial requests satisfied.”
Unfortunate pattern
The Daily Caller noted that this isn’t the first nomination Menendez has obstructed in this manner and provided several additional examples of the senator having delayed hearings and votes for weeks and months on end, sometimes even as long as up to a year.
“Senators have a right to question nominees and vote to confirm them. Menendez is standing in the way of senators exercising their rights as elected officials and their advice and consent role that is their constitutional right,” the unnamed Senate aide said.
Sen. Menendez likely thinks his efforts at delay and obstruction are a successful tactic to hamstring the Trump administration and slow the implementation of the president’s agenda, but in truth, what Menendez is doing is actually harmful to the country as well as destructive to the norms and traditions of the Senate, and it needs to stop.
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