Senate Leaders Eye Potential Discharge Votes This Week on Sohn, Bedoya
Senate Democratic leaders are actively eyeing whether enough of its caucus will be in town to potentially conduct initial votes later this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn or FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told us in interviews Tuesday. Senate Commerce voted 14-14 earlier this month on Bedoya and Sohn, meaning the full chamber would need to hold votes to discharge both nominees from committee jurisdiction before lawmakers could move forward on their confirmations.
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Senate aides and lobbyists told us Bedoya is the likelier of the two nominees to get a discharge vote this week. The office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., didn’t immediately comment.
There’s “been some discussion about whether or not” Senate leaders will try to hold discharge votes on Bedoya, Sohn and Federal Reserve board nominee Lisa Cook “later this week,” said Thune, who’s also Communications Subcommittee ranking member. Whether the Senate holds discharge votes on any of the trio this week is “going to be [the Democrats’] call” and will be “somewhat based on whether they have enough people here” from the Democratic caucus to get them through. Discharge votes on any of those nominees would likely end up “50-50” with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaker, Thune said.
“It’s all about attendance” on the Democratic side of the aisle, Cantwell said. “If people are there” in enough numbers to ensure a tie, “they’ll try to get it done.” Cantwell is “not going to speculate” on whether all 50 Senate Democrats are now on board with Sohn and Bedoya, alluding to pushback she received after telling reporters last month that Commerce Democratic member Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona backed Sohn before the committee vote occurred. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, seen as the most likely swing Democratic vote on Bedoya and Sohn, didn’t immediately comment on whether he backs the nominees.