Senate clears two more Obama nominations

The Senate confirmed two of President Obama’s executive nominees on Tuesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tried to block the nomination of Nani Coloretti to be deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but she was still confirmed in a 68-28 vote on Tuesday.

{mosads}Grassley said he would object to Coloretti’s nomination because in her previous position at the Treasury Department, human resources used illegal hiring practices.

“As the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Management, Ms. Coloretti oversees the Treasury’s human resources department and may have known about the illegal hiring practices, or was at least in a position to know,” Grassley said. “If she did, she certainly shouldn’t be rewarded with a promotion.”

The Senate also voted 53-44 to confirm Robert Adler to be commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

With Republicans taking control of the upper chamber next year, Democrats are more motivated than ever to clear as many of Obama’s executive and judicial nominations as possible before adjourning for the year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has filed cloture on several more nominations that the chamber will work through this week.

Later Tuesday, the Senate also voted to end debate on the nominations of Charlotte Burrows to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and P. David Lopez to be general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Their confirmation votes are expected Wednesday morning.

— This article was updated at 5:45 p.m.