Further Delay In Voting Clyburn Nomination

Source says effort by Senate Commerce to vote her nomination and that of FTC nominee fails for lack of a quorum

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/19/2012 6:25:52 PM

At press time, the Senate Commerce Committee had still not voted on the nomination of Mignon Clyburn to a full, six-year term on the FCC. Also awaiting a vote is the nomination of Joshua Wright as the new Republican commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.

Clyburn sailed through her confirmation hearing -- Wright got a little pushback on his writings about the limits of FTC authority -- though both are expected to be confirmed. The committee had slated a vote on the nominations Dec. 18, but the death of Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) caused that to be postponed.

According to a committee source, there was a second attempt late Wednesday to vote the nominations in a break from Senate floor business, but they lacked a quorum, so no vote.

A vote is not expected tomorrow, said the source, with folks expected to be paying their respects to the late chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, whose body is lying in state in the Rotunda, after which a service is planned.

Clyburn's current term expired June 30, 2012, but she could continue serving through the next Congress ( the end of 2013) unless a replacement were nominated and confirmed. She joined the FCC in 2009, filling the unexpired term of Democrat Jonathan Adelstein, who exited to head the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).