WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Mitch McConnell blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for devoting most of Tuesday to confirming a judge to the D.C. Circuit Court and the president’s housing nominee, rather than focusing on passing a defense bill before Congress wraps up for the year.
“I question the way the Senate is being run,” McConnell said at a press conference Tuesday.
“Here we are spending a whole week on nominations, none of which are emergencies, instead of dealing with the Defense Authorization bill,” he added.
McConnell described the move as a “rather transparent attempt to prevent a vote on enhanced Iran sanctions.”
Lawmakers disagree over the number of amendments that should be debated on the defense authorization bill.
Tuesday, instead, was devoted to the confirmation of previously blocked nominees, marking the beginning of the Senate’s post-nuclear era, which gave the majority the ability to easily confirm nominees over the objection of the majority. Patricia Millett was confirmed to serve on the DC Circuit Court Tuesday morning, and Democratic Rep. Mel Watt was confirmed to be Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency, after a series of procedural votes cleared the way for a final vote later in the day.
McConnell has previously said that Democrats would regret the rule change that allowed those nominations to pass, suggesting it would contribute to them getting beaten in November 2014.