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**APRIL 4, 2022**
Kuttner on TAP
More on That Senate Vote Against David Weil
****
How come Schumer moved the confirmation forward to floor action if the
votes weren't there?
On Friday, I reported on last week's failure of the Senate to confirm
David Weil
to head the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division. The vote was
47-53, with Democratic Sens. Manchin, Sinema, and Kelly voting against
Weil.
One other thing was odd about this vote. Usually, the Senate leadership
does a head count. If the votes are not there, the nominee withdraws
rather than suffering the repudiation of a negative record vote.
In at least three other cases when the Biden administration lacked the
Senate votes, they pulled the nomination. This happened most recently
with Sarah Bloom Raskin, who had been named to the Federal Reserve, and
Saule Omarova, who was to be comptroller of the currency; early in the
administration, Biden's choice for OMB director, Neera Tanden, did not
have the votes and also withdrew.
So how could the Senate leadership have let the Weil nomination go down
in a record vote? Chuck Schumer is pretty good at counting heads.
Here's what I've been able to reconstruct:
It was Sinema who broke first, and she has become less and less inclined
to communicate, negotiate, or keep the leadership in the loop. Business
groups had made an all-out push to defeat Weil, especially the
International Franchise Association, which feared a Labor Department
rule making parent companies and franchises jointly responsible for
decisions affecting workers.
Other corporate opponents included the small-business lobby (the NFIB),
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Uber and Lyft. The ridesharing
companies are especially vulnerable to new worker protections, because
their business model is already in trouble, with higher gas prices and
better-paying job opportunities competing for drivers.
When Sinema decided to oppose Weil, her fellow Arizona senator, Mark
Kelly, facing a close re-election, figured the nomination was doomed and
he might as well ingratiate himself with the business groups. (This may
well backfire, since business will support almost any Republican against
Kelly, while the vote against Weil mightily offends labor and immigrant
rights groups that depend on strong enforcement of labor laws.) When
Sinema and Kelly decided to sink the nomination, the corporate Manchin
went along as well.
One other telling coincidence was the administration's decision April
1 to terminate Title 42
, the
Trump-era gimmick that used supposed public-health concerns to
drastically restrict Mexican migration. Sinema and Kelly had both
pressured Biden to keep the restrictions in place. After he suspended
them, both issued blistering statements
.
It's possible that they were tipped off to Biden's decision, and
their March 30 vote against Weil was payback.
This still doesn't solve the riddle of why Schumer scheduled a record
vote. Even if the bizarre Sinema considers herself a free spirit, Kelly
is less of a loose cannon and more of a team player. It's hard to
believe he didn't alert the Democratic Senate leader.
One source whom I trust speculates that Schumer wanted the faithless
Democrats to be put on the record, as a badge of shame. One can argue
about whether that was smart. It certainly was a disservice to David
Weil.
****
~ ROBERT KUTTNER
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