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NBC's Matt Lauer, on Monday's Today show, used the occasion of the bombing attempt of Northwest Flight 253, to press Republican Senator Jim DeMint to stop being the last "hold-out" and "come around," on approving Obama's pick for TSA director Errol Southers. However Lauer failed to mention Obama took eight months to make his choice as well as the fact that DeMint is concerned that Southers' choice could lead to collective bargaining that would "bring the security concerns of TSA under the authority of union bosses

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who has been the target of much Democratic criticism for his efforts to slow down Senate confirmation of Erroll Southers, the Obama White House's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, now says Southers should not be confirmed.

Today, the Obama White House announced the nomination of Mari Del Carmen Aponte as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. It is not Ms. Aponte’s first brush with an ambassadorship. In 1998, President Clinton nominated her to be Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She was forced to withdraw her name from consideration over allegations of ties to the Cuban spy agency. From Washington Times, January 25, 1999: Miss Aponte’s withdrawal from consideration for the Dominican Republic post came after she was questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her contacts with Cuban government employees or agents. She told the panel...

President Obama's nominee to become commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission signed a manifesto praising polygamy and arguing traditional marriage should not be privileged above other forms of union. Chai Feldblum, an outspoken homosexual rights activist and Georgetown University law professor, is a signatory to an online petition entitled "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision For All Our Families and Relationships."

Snippets: President Obama's nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research. Analysts say the lack of disclosure reflects a potential loophole in the policies for the Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent. They also question lobbying laws that allow such a group to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars without the public knowing exactly how much money each of the companies...

President Obama's nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research. But Dr. Tara O'Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, never reported her involvement with the lobbying group called the Alliance for Biosecurity in a recent government ethics filing. The alliance has spent more than $500,000 lobbying Congress and federal agencies -- including Homeland Security -- since 2005, congressional records show.

So much for my prediction of 75 votes to confirm; with Sessions, Kyl, and now even Maverick against her, she’ll be lucky to break 70. I’m honestly stunned, for the same reason Hotline is: McCain voted against Sotomayor’s nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in ‘98, so his decision is not entirely surprising. But like his friend and GOP colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), McCain has decried the politicization of judicial nominations that led to a failed Dem filibuster of Justice Samuel Alito. Graham, citing a desire to “start over” on the Senate’s advise and consent role, was...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican senator is blocking the nomination of a top Environmental Protection Agency official over what he calls a flawed study of the climate bill recently passed in the House. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said Wednesday that the hold is unrelated to the qualifications of Robert Perciasepe, nominated to become the EPA's deputy administrator. Voinovich said the EPA analysis of the House climate bill fails to thoroughly review its impact on the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he will nominate Aaron Williams, a career international development specialist, to be director of the Peace Corps.

Sonia Sotomayor has stated her case for a place on the US Supreme Court to the Senate, saying her judicial philosophy is "fidelity to the law". The nominee said during her 17 years as a federal judge she had sought to serve the interests of "impartial justice". Ms Sotomayor - nominated by President Barack Obama - will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is, as expected, confirmed in the post. Some Republican senators want her to explain past rulings and comments. These include her remark that a "wise Latina" could reach better legal conclusions than...

The criminal defense lawyer nominated by President Obama to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey is declining to identify more than half of his private clients on government forms designed to help the public guard against potential conflicts of interests.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said Thursday he does not plan to vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, becoming the first Republican to explicitly state his opposition to President Obama's pick for the high court. "With all due respect to the nominee and nothing personal, I do not plan to vote for her," Roberts told talk radio host Christ Stigall on Kansas station KCMO. Roberts also noted he was one of the 28 Senate Republicans in 1998 who voted against confirming Sotomayor to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Sotomayor was ultimately confirmed to that court...

Focusing on specific candidates for the nation's highest court, President Barack Obama is considering a diverse list dominated by women and Hispanics. The six names confirmed as being under review by Obama include three judges, two members of his administration and one governor.

Listening to the mainstream media, cable news shows, Democrats and the Left all practice “racial profiling” and “identity politics” to the highest degree in their debate over who should replace Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court – while conveniently avoiding that pesky term “qualifications” – I am convinced that President Obama’s choice is obvious. “Daffy Duck” should replace Justice Souter. Here are seven (7) reasons why: We have never had a duck sit on the Supreme Court. I am sure that our nation has a history of insensitivity toward “duck rights.” Daffy is a black duck. Therefore, Daffy’s...

3 with University of Chicago ties expected to be on Obama's short list for Supreme Court Ever since Barack Obama's election as president, there has been anticipation among scholars at the University of Chicago's Law School that one of their own could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court bench in the next few years. That anticipation was heightened late last week with news that Obama, who taught constitutional law at the school from 1992 to 2004, soon will be making his first Supreme Court pick. Almost every short list of possible nominees to succeed Justice David Souter includes three...

'Weak' Barack Obama loses another nomineeTom Baldwin in Washington March 13, 2009 President Obama is facing accusations that he failed his first test on the Middle East by allowing America's pro-Israel lobby to force out the nominee for a top intelligence post. Charles Freeman, picked to chair the National Intelligence Council (NIC), withdrew after an internet-led campaign branded him as harbouring Arabist sympathies or being influenced by foreign governments. In a furious message posted to friends and colleagues, Mr Freeman said that the “tactics of the Israel lobby plumb the depths of dishonour and indecency and include character assassination, selective...

[VIDEO] EXCERPT: Another week, another Obama nominee bites the dust. But at least this one had paid his taxes. President Obama’s controversial choice to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post. Charles W. Freeman blamed the “Israel lobby” for his problems. Others said the withdrawal had more to do with questions about Freeman’s financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia. Financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia? Who does this guy think he is, Bill Clinton? Speaking of Bill Clinton,

We would say “Would the last honest Democrat please turn out the lights,” but we fear the eternally-burning bulbs would impact global warming. Ron Kirk, the president’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, has agreed to pay $10,000 in back taxes. Kirk played a little fast and loose with past speaking fees, took an improper deduction for the cost of his Dallas Mavericks season tickets, and claimed exorbitant charitable deductions. Adolfo Carrion, the president’s nominee for ‘Urban Czar’ is also in hot water. He’s accused of receiving kickbacks from developers whose projects he approved while serving as Bronx Borough President. An...

What do you get when you mix a legal degree with a whole lot of crazy? Answer: Obama’s Department of Justice nominee, Dawn Johnsen. As the former legal director for NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), Dawn Johnsen is already far more liberal than most conservatives hoped for; however, after reading Andrew McCarthy’s article in the National Review, I’m afraid she’s far more fanatical than most of us imagined. In the article, McCarthy discusses Johnsen’s Supreme Court brief written for Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. The case centered on a Missouri law that did not prohibit abortion, but did restrict...

Trade nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Reuters WASHINGTON – Ron Kirk, nominated as U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to make his payments, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday. The committee said the taxes arise from Kirk's handling of speaking fees that he donated to his alma mater, and for his deduction of the full cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team. The disclosure made the former Dallas mayor...