President Obama gave vulnerable Senate Democrats some breathing room by delaying the selection of his next attorney general until after November’s midterms.
But he did himself no favors.
By pushing back the timeline for his pick, Obama created additional obstacles for his next attorney general, making it easier for Republicans to delay the confirmation vote until 2015 — a possibly more hospitable political environment for conservatives.
Obama is banking he’ll be able to push through an attorney general nominee, even if Republicans take back the upper chamber in November. White House officials are hoping that Republicans would not block the filling of the nation’s top law enforcement post despite their stiff resistance to an array of previous Obama nominees.
The president also knows that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. — no longer bound by the need to beat a filibuster — could force a simple majority vote in a lame-duck Congress.
But such a move would undermine confidence in the Senate’s legislative process and begin in earnest a combative showdown with a Republican Congress during the president’s final two years in office.
Some long-time observers of confirmation battles say Obama is putting short-term gains in November ahead of the long-term goal of laying the proper foundation for his next attorney general.
“It’s the most radioactive Cabinet agency the president has to manage,” Matt Schlapp, former White House political director for President George W. Bush, said of nominating an attorney general. “The background checks need to be extensive. Trying to jam somebody through will lead to disastrous results.”
The vetting process usually takes a month and a half, Senate aides said, leaving the president precious little time if he wants Holder’s successor confirmed before January.
A White House official familiar with the president’s thinking said the move was motivated by Senate Democrats pressing Obama to hold off on the decision.
The acknowledgment of the political elements behind the delay will only make it more difficult for Obama to implore Republicans not to play politics on the confirmation vote after the midterms.
With possible Senate runoffs in Louisiana and Georgia, GOP leaders would also have additional ammunition to argue for pushing back confirmation to 2015.
And the results of the November elections could also influence Obama’s decision.
Early frontrunners for the job include Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr.
Perez, a more controversial selection, would face an easier path in a lame-duck session. A pick more in the mold of Verrilli, a safer choice, could likely wait until 2015.
But some Democrats insist there’s a logistical benefit to Obama pushing through a nominee on an abbreviated timeline.
“You don’t have people reading their term papers from 1985,” quipped Democratic strategist Christopher Hahn, a former aide for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“I think the president can nominate whoever he wants,” Hahn added. “He’s not up for election ever again.”
Republicans, however, are framing the White House’s calculation as part of a pattern of punting politically controversial decisions. GOP leaders are comparing the delay to Obama’s decision to push back until after the midterms his expected executive action on immigration reform.
“This timing shows, once again, that the president and Democrat Senate leaders are willing to play politics with important policy decisions,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “First it was immigration, and now Senate Democrats have asked the president to delay his announcement for attorney general so they can avoid making clear to the voters of their states where they stand on what could be a controversial choice.”
White House officials were mum Tuesday on whether they would pursue a confirmation fight in a lame-duck session if Democrats lose the Senate.
But before announcing the delay, they were the ones trumpeting previous lame-duck appointments, including George W. Bush’s successful confirmation of Defense Secretary Robert Gates after the 2006 midterms.
“There is a precedent for presidents making important Cabinet nominations and counting on Congress to confirm them promptly even in the context of a lame-duck session, if necessary,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said immediately following the announcement of Holder’s resignation.
