Commerce Leaders Seek to Fast-Track Clyburn Approval

Unanimous consent request could speed "blanket" committee approval of more than a dozen nominees

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/20/2012 5:45:33 PM

With Senate floor time "in flux" and unable to get a quorum of the Senate Commerce Committee to vote on the renomination of FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the heads of the committee have come up with plan B.

According to a committee spokesperson, chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) agreed to seek unanimous consent from the Senate on discharging the nominees from the Committee.  That would mean they would only need a full Senate vote to be confirmed.

If no Senator objects, the nominations would not have to go through a committee markup and vote.

There would still need to be a vote in the full Senate, but that one could happen quickly, too, though the staffer said there would be no word on whether the committee vote had been fast-tracked until Friday.