Senate confirms GSA head, breaking political logjam
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The Senate on Thursday confirmed Martha Johnson as head of the General Services Administration, ending the political drama that was one of the Obama administration’s favorite examples of Washington’s political malaise.
By 94-2, the Senate confirmed Johnson after it passed a motion to invoke cloture, a key procedural step. That vote was 82-16.
President Obama nominated Johnson in May, but a Republican senator had blocked any vote as part of a dispute over a proposed government building in Kansas City, Mo. GSA serves as the federal government’s superintendent and procurement office.
But the nomination became another example for the Obama administration of how the political process in Washington has been poisoned by politics that often have nothing to do with the merits. Just this week, Obama brought up the nomination in his session with Senate Democrats when he called for both sides of the aisle to work toward pragmatic solutions to problems.
“I don’t have a GSA administrator, even though I nominated somebody who was well-qualified several months ago, and nobody can tell me that there’s anything particularly wrong with her,” Obama complained. Republicans are “blocking her because of some unrelated matter ... that has to end. It has to end. And the American people want it to end.”
Ironically, the vote came hours before Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown was scheduled to be sworn in as the GOP’s 41st vote, breaking the Democrats 60-vote super-majority.
Brown will take over the seat held by interim Massachusetts Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., who was appointed in September after Edward M. Kennedy’s death in August and did not run in the special election won by Brown last month.
Kirk cast what will probably be his last vote in favor of Johnson.
-- Michael Muskal
