Senate Live - May 26, 2006

• 08:45 convene the Senate
• Vote on the Kavanaugh nomination
• Vote on the Hayden nomination
• Permit Senator Nelson to speak
• Cloture vote on the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne
• Permit Senator Landrieu to speak for 10 minutes
• Vote on the Kempthorne nomination (assuming cloture was invoked)
• Get out of town for the Memorial Day recess

Predictions: All pass. Kavanaugh on nearly party line (58-39), Hayden on a wider margin (75-23), and Kempthorne unanimously.

UPDATE @ 09:50

The nomination of Kavanaugh for a seat on the DC Circuit Court was
PASSED on a 57 - 36 vote
DEM Aye votes: Byrd, Carper, Landrieu and Nelson (NE)

The nomination of Hayden to be the head of the CIA was
PASSED on a 78 - 15 vote
Nay votes: Bayh, Cantwell, Clinton, Dayton, Dodd, Dorgan, Dodd, Feingold, Harkin, Kennedy, Kerry, Menendez, Obama, Specter and Wyden

UPDATE @ 10:10

Cloture on the nomination of Kempthorne for Secretary of the Interior was
PASSED on a 85 -08 vote
Objectors: Biden, Clinton, Dayton, Harkin, Kerry, Mikulski,Nelson (FL), and Schumer

The nomination of Kempthorne for Secretary of the Interior was
PASSED on a voice vote

UPDATE @ 10:25

Senator Landrieu begged for more money.
Senator Stevens urged the Senate to open ANWR for mineral exploration and extraction.

UPDATE @ 10:40

Senator Specter explains that his vote against Hayden was a protest against the administration for not being forthcoming with Congress re: NSA programs, particularly, for not informing enough members of Congress. He also outlined the steps that he proposes be taken henceforth.

UPDATE @ 10:55

Senator Specter introduces an amended version of the asbestos bill.

Senator Byrd will talk on the occasion of what would have been his 69th wedding anniversary.

Some immigration reading ...

CIRA=Corruption, Ignorance, Recklessness, Arrogance [John Derbyshire]
'Anchors' away - Mona Charen

A little bit about the Senate and NSA ...

Senate Bill Would Require Intelligence Budget Disclosure

Public disclosure of intelligence budget data would be required under a provision of the 2007 Intelligence Authorization Act that was reported (pdf) by the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday and disclosed today. ...

The budget disclosure provision was proposed by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and approved yesterday by the Senate Intelligence Committee on a 9-6 vote. All Democrats on the Committee supported the move, as did Republican Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska). Other Republicans, including Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), opposed it.

And a little bit on judicial confirmations ...

Frist: One and Done on Judicial Nominees?

But after Kavanaugh, who is next?

That's the question conservatives want Frist to answer. But during yesterday's call, they got no satisfaction. Frist ducked a question about stalled nominees Terence Boyle and William Haynes, saying he was still waiting for advice from Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) on how to proceed.