Don't Fret Alexis - It's All a Game

Don't Fret Alexis - It's All a Game

Tuesday, April 22nd 1997 — Senate Republicans are holding up the vote on President Clinton's nomination of Alexis Herman as the new Secretary of Labor to replace Robert Reich.

The issue?

GOP leaders want the President to withdraw his plans to issue an order requiring federal agencies to adopt construction contract procedures that tend to favor unionized companies over non-union contractors. This is part of a pay-back package to organized labor that both Mr. Clinton and Vice President Al Gore have frequently mentioned over the past few months.

Ms. Herman, who after a lengthy and sometimes rocky set of Senate confirmation hearings, received the unanimous approval of the Senate Committee reviewing her nomination and fitness.

But now, like prep school brats, some Senators want to extort the White House in a quid-pro-quo move designed to force the President to withdraw the planned executive order in return for Ms. Herman's final full Senate vote.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said it worst when he told reporters that Herman would not get unanimous consent required before the full vote could take place until the President "responded" to Republican senators "concerns" about his order.

Translation: Ms. Herman's confirmation will be blocked for the forseeable future unless and until the President "retracts his plans" in response to senate "demands" about the order.

While this type of legislative blackmail is all too common, it seems to me that Mr. Lott could be more forthcoming and direct signaling the White House. It might be more appropriate if he told the President, "Look, either you do things our way, or we'll mess you up."