With many of President Obama's judicial and executive nominations delayed in the Senate, some members of that body are urging reconsideration a rule permitting one delay tactic. The charge is being led by Sen. Claire McCaskill (pictured).
The Hill reports:
Senators have long been able to block action on any nomination (and sometimes legislation) by placing an anonymous "hold." Twenty Democratic Senators, led by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), are now pushing the Senate to ban that practice.
In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the group, argues that the anonymity of secret holds violates the spirit of democracy.
Beginning with the hold on President Obama's nomination for Surgeon General, Senator Reid detailed a number of nominations subject to what one observer called