A day after Tammy Duckworth's relatively smooth confirmation hearing before the Veterans Affairs Committee, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) inexplicably decided to delay a scheduled April 2 vote on her nomination as assistant secretary for the federal V.A., citing his pursuit of "answers to some questions". Burr's action came among numerous other instances of GOP senators slow-pedalling Obama administration nominees. The fact that he provided no rationale for the delay only amplified the outrage among veterans groups.
Then, as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reported on her program last night, Burr mysteriously green-lighted the nomination yesterday:
Once again, Burr's office has only said that his questions related "to confidential questionnaires Duckworth submitted to the committee." His spokesman also confirmed that the inquiries did not pertain to former Gov. Blagojevich, who appointed her director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs in 2006.
Gotta love the U.S. Senate.
