Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the January 23, 2023 Senate Michael Greene Privileged nominations are a subset of presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed positions Analyst on Congress and that are eligible for consideration under procedures established by S.Res. 116 (112^th Congress, (112th Congress, the Legislative Process 2011-2012). The vast majority of the 285 nominations designated as privileged are part-time positions to various boards and commissions, though some full-time positions are privileged as well (e.g., chief financial officers and certain assistant secretaries in Cabinet-level agencies). The procedures for privileged nominations may reduce the workload of committees of jurisdiction in processing these appointments for consideration by the Senate.

The creation of privileged nominations and the special procedures for their consideration were part of a larger effort at reforming the confirmation process in the Senate during the 112^th112th Congress. At the outset of the 112^th112th Congress, a bipartisan working group was formed and ultimately produced both S.Res. 116, ", “A resolution to provide for expedited Senate consideration of certain nominations subject to advice and consent,"” and S. 679, the "“Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011" (” (P.L. 112-166). The list of privileged nominations, first established in 2012, was expanded in 2015 by P.L. 114-1, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015, to include 13 members of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers.

Unlike a typical nomination, a privileged nomination is not referred to committee unless requested by any Senator. Instead, it is entered into the "“Privileged Nominations"” section of the Senate Executive Calendar. Committees are required to request biographical and financial information from these nominees, typically in the form of committee questionnaires. Upon receipt of the requested information, the committee chair notifies the Executive Clerk in writing. The nomination then remains in the "“Privileged Nominations"” section of the Executive Calendar for 10 days of session before moving to the "Nominations" “Nominations” section, where it is eligible to be brought up for consideration on the floor of the Senate. This process allows a nomination to become eligible for floor consideration even though the committee did not hold a formal markup meeting to vote to report it. There are no expedited floor procedures for privileged nominations, and they are brought up and considered under the same procedures as any nomination reported by a committee.

Any Senator may request on his or her own behalf, or on behalf of any identified Senator, that a privileged nomination be referred to committee. Such a request automatically triggers the referral of a privileged nomination. If a nomination is referred in this way, it must be reported by the committee (or the Senate must discharge the committee of the nomination) before the full Senate can consider it. The vast majority of privileged nominations considered on the Senate floor were not subject to a request for referral to committee. As of the end of 20192022, the Senate has considered 467634 privileged nominations, and there have been 2258 instances of privileged nominations being referred to a committee at the request of a Senator. Such requests for referral are usually initiated by a Member on the committee with jurisdiction over the nomination and oftentimes originate with the committee'’s chair or ranking member.

Congressional Research Service link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 5 link to page 5 link to page 6 link to page 6 link to page 6 link to page 8 link to page 8 link to page 8 link to page 19 link to page 19 link to page 10 link to page 16 link to page 16 link to page 20 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate Contents “Privileged” Nominations ............................................................................................................... 1 Consideration of Privileged Nominations ................................................................................. 1 Receipt in Senate................................................................................................................. 1 Information Requested and Received by Committee ......................................................... 2 Final Consideration Under Regular Procedures .................................................................. 2 Referral of a Privileged Nomination to Committee ............................................................ 3 Legislative History on the Creation of Privileged Nominations ..................................................... 3 S.Res. 116, 112th Congress ........................................................................................................ 3 Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 ............................................. 5 Privileged Nominations Referred to Committee ............................................................................. 5 Increase in Referral to Committee During the 117th Congress .................................................. 5 Figures Figure A-1. Example of Privileged Nominations Section of the Senate Executive Calendar ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Tables Table 1. Privileged Nominations Referred to Committee ............................................................... 7 Table A-1. Privileged Nominations ............................................................................................... 13 Appendixes Appendix. Privileged Nominations ............................................................................................... 13 Contacts Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 17 Congressional Research Service link to page 16 link to page 19 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate “Privileged” Nominations Every year the Senate routinely considers whether to give its advice and consent to hundreds of nominations submitted by the President. From start to finish, the confirmation process can be a lengthy one, even for relatively noncontroversial nominees. Each nomination is typically referred to one or more committees having subject matter jurisdiction over the position. Committees may bear a significant workload in examining nominees—often including questionnaires, optional public hearings, and individual meetings with Senators—to determine whether to report a nomination to the full Senate.¹1 Once a committee has reported a nomination or been discharged from its further consideration, the Senate may take up a nomination for deliberation, though a cloture process may be required to ensure a final vote to confirm.²

2 As part of an effort to streamline the nominations process during the 112^th112th Congress (2011-2012), a standing order of the Senate, S.Res. 116, created a new designation of certain nominations as "“privileged."” These so-called privileged nominations are subject to special procedures that may save the time of committees in processing these appointments. In total, there are 285 positions to which nominations are privileged, the majority of which are part-time appointments to oversight boards and advisory commissions, but they also include full-time chief financial officers and certain assistant secretaries to cabinetCabinet-level agencies. A full list of privileged nominations, organized by their committees of jurisdiction, can be found in Appendix.

This report first examines, in detail, the special procedures under which privileged nominations are processed, as well as the action by which a Senator may have a privileged nomination referred to its committee of jurisdiction. It then provides a brief legislative history of S.Res. 116 and subsequent legislation that has created additional privileged nominations. Finally, this report includes data on and a discussion of Senators'’ requests to refer privileged nominations to committeecommittee. Figure A-1 contains an example of the "“Privileged Nominations"” section of the Senate'Senate’s Executive Calendar.

Consideration of Privileged Nominations

The sections below discuss each step of how a privileged nomination might be processed under potentially expedited procedures before consideration by the full Senate. Pursuant to Section 1(d) of S.Res. 116, any Senator may insist that a privileged nomination be referred to its committee of jurisdiction, making it no longer eligible for procedures under S.Res. 116. Further discussion of when and why a Senator might make such a request follows after the sections on consideration.

Receipt in Senate

Unlike a typical nomination—which, when received by the Senate, is usually referred to its committee of jurisdiction—a privileged nomination goes directly to the "“Privileged Nominations" ” section of the Executive Calendar. There, the nominee and position to which he or she was nominated is to be recorded, along with the date the nomination was received by the Senate. An 1 For a more detailed discussion of the consideration of nominations, see CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by Elizabeth Rybicki. 2 For more information on the cloture process in the Senate, see CRS Report 98-425, Invoking Cloture in the Senate, by Christopher M. Davis; and CRS Report RL30360, Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate, by Valerie Heitshusen and Richard S. Beth. Congressional Research Service 1 link to page 19 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate example page of the “example page of the "Privileged Nominations"” section of the Executive Calendar appears in Figure A-1.

The same day a privileged nomination is received in the Senate, the Office of the Executive Clerk sends a notification form to its committee of jurisdiction. This transmittal from the Executive Clerk is not a referral of the nomination to the committee but rather serves to inform the committee it should proceed to request information from the nominee. A column in the Privileged Nominations section of the Executive Calendar entitled "“Information Requested by Committee" ” is marked with a "Yes"“Yes” to denote this transaction.

Information Requested and Received by Committee

Though under the terms of S.Res. 116, privileged nominations are not referred to their committees of jurisdiction, these committees are still responsible for obtaining certain background information from nominees before they can be considered by the full Senate. Section 1(b) of S.Res. 116 directs that the "“appropriate biographical and financial questionnaires"” be collected by committees of jurisdiction from privileged nominees. This broad requirement gives committees some discretion in determining what information to collect. As a result, committee practices on obtaining information from privileged nominees can vary.³

3 Once a nominee has responded to a committee'’s questionnaires, the chair is required to notify the Executive Clerk in writing that the appropriate information has been received. This requirement is fulfilled, in practice, when the committee returns the notification form to the Executive Clerk's ’s office.

When a committee has affirmed receipt of the requested information from a nominee, that date is recorded under the "“Requested Information Received"” column in the Privileged Nominations section of the Executive Calendar. Senators have 10 session days from this date (and any time prior to this point, starting from the day the nomination was received in the Senate) to request that the nomination be referred to its committee of jurisdiction.⁴4 After 10 session days have passed, the nomination is then moved to the "Nominations"“Nominations” section of the Executive Calendar and is eligible to be called up for consideration on the Senate floor (after lying over for one day or, by unanimous consent, immediately).

Privileged nominations that have been considered under these procedures are to appear in the Nominations section of the Executive Calendar with the designation "“Placed on the Calendar pursuant to S.Res. 116, 112^th, 112th Congress"” under the "“Reported By"” column, along with the date it first appeared there.

Final Consideration Under Regular Procedures

Once a privileged nomination has moved to the Nominations section of the Executive Calendar, there is no expedited process under which the Senate can proceed to consider or vote on it. Instead, these nominations are equally eligible for consideration as any other found on the Nominations section of the Executive Calendar. As a result, even privileged nominations that may have moved quickly through the expedited committee process could face lengthy wait 3 For example, in addition to obtaining questionnaire responses, the Committee on Finance routinely holds confirmation hearings on some of its privileged nominations. 4 A “session day” is any calendar day on which the Senate meets, including days that the Senate meets in pro forma session. The day on which “requested information received” from the nominee is recorded in the Executive Calendar is considered day 1 of the 10-session-day count. Congressional Research Service 2 link to page 10 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate periods before being brought up for consideration by the full Senate. Some privileged nominations never receive a vote on the Senate floor and are returned to the President when the Senate adjourns sine die at the end of the first or second session of a Congress or when it recesses for more than 30 days.⁵

5 Referral of a Privileged Nomination to Committee

As noted earlier, pursuant to Section 1(d) of S.Res. 116, any Senator may trigger, on his or her own behalf or the behalf of any identified Senator, that a privileged nomination be referred to its committee of jurisdiction for consideration under normal procedures. Any such request compels the referral of the nomination to committee. Senators do not need to obtain recognition on the floor to make such a request, nor are they required to provide a reason for their request. Instead, a form for this purpose is available at the dais on the Senate floor. A Senator'’s request is then to be reflected in that day'’s Congressional Record, and the nomination is to be referred to its committee of jurisdiction. Additional data on requests for the referral of a privileged nomination can be found inin Table 1.

Senators may make such requests for a variety of reasons. Senators may have concerns over the qualifications or fitness of an individual to serve in the position to which he or she was nominated. Referring the nomination to committee ensures that it will need the support of a majority of the committee to be reported to the Senate—a higher threshold than under the procedures of S.Res. 116, which require only that the committee'’s chair affirm that the requested biographical and financial information has been received. Alternatively, a Senator may desire more time for individual meetings with Senators or a public hearing where a nominee's ’s credentials can be extolled, perhaps increasing the chances of a favorable floor vote.

Legislative History on the Creation of Privileged Nominations

Nominations S.Res. 116, 112^th Congress

, 112th Congress The creation of privileged nominations and the special procedures applied to them were part of a larger effort to reform the confirmation process in the Senate during the 112^th112th Congress (2011-2012). On January 5, 2011, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell engaged in a brief colloquy to discuss the pace of processing nominations in the Senate, noting the increasing volume of Senate-confirmed positions and the need for reform. Connecting the oftentimes laborious confirmation process with difficulty in finding capable nominees, Majority Leader Reid said: Clearly, all Presidents are entitled to choose well-qualified individuals to serve in Leader Reid said:

Clearly, all Presidents are entitled to choose well-qualified individuals to serve in their administration. In the vast majority of instances, the individuals nominated by the President are not controversial, but many have faced delays before assuming their positions. These delays mean critical decision-makers are not in place. And, the delays make it harder to find qualified people—many great nominees simply cannot wait around for months as the 5 Pursuant to Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6. For more discussion on Senate adjournments and the return of nominations, see CRS Report R42977, Sessions, Adjournments, and Recesses of Congress; and CRS Report R46664, Return of Nominations to the President under Senate Rule XXXI. Congressional Research Service 3 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate stress and uncertainty affects their families and careers. We need to do better in the 112^th Congress.⁶

112th Congress.6 The two leaders agreed to form a bipartisan nominations reform working group, consisting of Senators Chuck Schumer and Lamar Alexander, the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules and Administration; Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the floor leaders themselves. By the end of March, members of the group had introduced two measures: S. 679, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, and, S.Res. 116, a resolution to provide for expedited Senate consideration of certain nominations subject to advice and consent.⁷

7 S.Res. 116 was submitted on March 30, 2011, by Senator Schumer on behalf of himself and 14 other Senators—including all members of the nominations reform working group—and was referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. The Rules Committee met on May 11 and ordered the resolution reported favorably by voice vote without amendment.⁸

8 The Senate took up S.Res. 116 for consideration on June 29. Three amendments to the resolution were proposed and considered, with a package of negotiated and technical changes—referred to as a “managers’as a "managers' amendment"”—ultimately being agreed to.

The first amendment, proposed by Senator Tom Coburn, contained language requiring reporting requirements on legislation creating new federal programs. The amendment was not agreed to, 63-34, after failing to achieve a two-thirds threshold for adoption, pursuant to an earlier unanimous consent agreement.⁹9 A second amendment, proposed by Senator Tom Harkin on behalf of Senator Tom Udall, would have amended Senate Rule XXII to establish a majority-vote threshold for invoking cloture on executive branch nominees.¹⁰10 This amendment was ruled out of order by the chair. The final amendment, offered by Senator Schumer, included provisions that expanded the positions to be considered as privileged nominations (including several full-time chief financial officers and certain assistant secretaries) and required that future legislation proposing new presidentially appointed positions be accompanied by a justification report. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent.

The Senate agreed to S.Res. 116, as amended, by a vote of 89-8, on June 29, 2011.

6 Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 157 (January 5, 2011), pp. S14-S15. 7 S. 679 eliminated the requirement of Senate approval from a number of positions, among other provisions. The bill was passed in the Senate on the same day as S.Res. 116 and was later enacted as P.L. 112-166. For more information on S. 679, see CRS Report R41872, Presidential Appointments, the Senate’s Confirmation Process, and Changes Made in the 112th Congress, by Maeve P. Carey. 8 In his opening statement submitted for the record, Senator Tom Udall noted his intention to offer several amendments to S.Res. 116 during markup but withdrew them to expedite the committee process. Senator Udall would later offer an amendment during floor consideration of the resolution. U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Compilation of Hearings and Markups, 112th Cong., 1st sess., May 11, 2011, S.Hrg. 112-770 (Washington: GPO, 2012), p. 14. 9 Senator Coburn had offered an identical amendment to S. 679 during floor consideration a week earlier. The unanimous consent agreement withdrew Senator Coburn’s amendment from consideration at that time, instead allowing it to be offered during consideration of S.Res. 116 and providing one hour of debate equally divided between Senator Coburn and the majority leader or their designees, in addition to requiring the two-thirds voting threshold. 10 The Senate would reinterpret Rule XXII in 2013 and again in 2017 to establish majority cloture on nominations. For further discussion of those actions, see CRS Report R43331, Majority Cloture for Nominations: Implications and the “Nuclear” Proceedings of November 21, 2013; and CRS Report R44819, Senate Proceedings Establishing Majority Cloture for Supreme Court Nominations: In Brief, by Valerie Heitshusen. Congressional Research Service 4 link to page 10 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015

H.R. 26, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015,¹¹11 during the 114^th 114th Congress (2015-2016), created a new 13-member Board of Directors for the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers and designated these positions as privileged nominations established by S.Res. 116 (112^th (112th Congress).¹²12 To date, this legislation marks the first and only expansion of the privileged nominations category.

The language establishing these new privileged nominations first appeared in the 113^th113th Congress (2013-2014) with the introduction of S. 534, the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2013. The legislative history of S. 534 offers no additional comment on the designating of these 13 positions as privileged nominations. Nonetheless, these positions fit the general profile of the type of nominations for which expedited consideration was designed (e.g., part-time boards and commissions).

Privileged Nominations Referred to Committee

The Senate has considered 467634 privileged nominations since S.Res. 116 was agreed tothe adoption of S.Res. 116 on June 29, 2011, until the end of 202229, 2011. Of those 467, 22 (4.7634 nominations, 58 (9.1%) have been referred to committee at the request of a Senator. This rate of referral suggests that Senators are generally deferential to the expedited committee consideration of privileged nominationsnominations. Table 1 provides data on these 2258 instances of requested referrals. Each entry contains identifying information about the nomination, including the Congress when the nomination was submitted, the name of the nominee, the position to which he or she was nominated, and the final disposition of the nomination by the Senate. Table entries also note the committee of jurisdiction for each nomination and a column indicating whether the Senator requesting referral was a member and/or leader of that committee at the time he or she made the request.

As previously discussed, under the provisions of S.Res. 116, any Senator has the right to request that a privileged nomination be referred to its committee of jurisdiction. The vast majorityA supermajority of these requests have been by a Senator on the nomination'’s committee of jurisdiction. Of the 22 58 instances where a privileged nomination has been referred, 2045 (or 77.6%) have been made by a Senator from the committee of jurisdiction. Furthermore, 1425 (or 43.1%) of those 2058 requests were made by either the chair or ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction. Increase in Referral to Committee During the 117th Congress The referral of privileged nominations to committee during the 117th Congress alone nearly equaled that of the combined total from the prior six Congresses. For the first nine years the privileged nominations process was in place (2011-2020), a total of 30 privileged nominations were referred to committee. During the two years of the 117th Congress, from 2021 to 2022, 28 privileged nominations were referred to committee. It is too early to determine if the increase in referral of privileged nominations to committees during the 117th Congress will continue in future Congresses. The 117th Congress was an equally divided Senate in which both parties had equal representation on every committee as opposed to 11 P.L. 114-1. 12 P.L. 114-1, §202(a); 129 Stat. 20. Congressional Research Service 5 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate the majority party holding a numerical majority of seats.13 A procedural consequence of equally divided committees meant that the majority party needed the support of at least one minority party Senator in order to favorably report a nomination out of committee or otherwise needed to rely on a special floor procedure to discharge nominations that failed to be reported due to a tie vote.14 It is not clear if this unique feature had an impact on decisions to request referral of privileged nominations. 13 See CRS Report R46769, The Senate Powersharing Agreement of the 117th Congress (S.Res. 27), by Elizabeth Rybicki, for more details on how the Senate accommodated the equally divided 117th Congress. 14 S.Res. 27, the powersharing agreement in place for the 117th Congress, provided a procedural mechanism whereby a floor leader could make a debate-limited motion to discharge a nomination that failed to be reported due to a tied committee vote. Congressional Research Service 6 link to page 14 link to page 14 Table 1. Privileged Nominations Referred to Committee 2011-2022 Senator Requesting Referral on Final Committee of Committee of Congress Nominee Position Disposition Jurisdiction Jurisdiction? 117th Congress Kimberly A. McClain Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Confirmed, voice Banking, Housing, and Urban Yes (2021-2022) Development vote Affairs 117th Congress Carlos F. Uriarte Assistant Attorney General Confirmed, voice Judiciary No (2021-2022) vote 117th Congress Susie Feliz Assistant Secretary of Commerce Confirmed, voice Commerce, Science, and Yes (Ranking (2021-2022) vote Transportation Member) 117th Congress Rebecca E. Jones Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Confirmed, voice Finance Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) Gaston Families, Department of Health and Human vote Services 117th Congress Sean Burton Member, Board of Directors of the Confirmed, voice Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority vote Transportation 117th Congress Victoria B. Wassmer Chief Financial Officer, Department of Confirmed, voice Commerce, Science, and Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) Transportation vote Transportation 117th Congress Mohsin R. Syed Assistant Secretary of Transportation Confirmed, voice Commerce, Science, and Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) vote Transportation 117th Congress Samuel H. Slater Member, Board of Directors of the Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Presidenta Transportation 117th Congress Michael F. Gerber Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Confirmed, voice Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board (Reappointment) vote Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Michael F. Gerber Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Confirmed, voice Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board vote Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Samuel H. Slater Member, Board of Directors of the Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Presidenta Transportation CRS-7 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 Senator Requesting Referral on Final Committee of Committee of Congress Nominee Position Disposition Jurisdiction Jurisdiction? 117th Congress Laurel A. Blatchford Control er, Office of Federal Financial Returned to the Homeland Security and Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) Management, Office of Management and Presidenta Governmental Affairs Budget 117th Congress Javier E. Saade Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Returned to the Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board (Reappointment) Presidenta Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Javier E. Saade Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Returned to the Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board Presidenta Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Stacie Olivares Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Confirmed, voice Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board vote Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Leona M. Bridges Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Confirmed, voice Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board vote Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Dana K. Bilyeu Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Confirmed, voice Homeland Security and No (2021-2022) Board (Reappointment) vote Governmental Affairs 117th Congress Viquar Ahmad Chief Financial Officer, Department of Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Commerce Presidenta Transportation 117th Congress Viquar Ahmad Assistant Secretary of Commerce Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Presidenta Transportation 117th Congress Mary C. Phee Member, Board of Directors of the African Withdrawn Foreign Relations Yes (2021-2022) Development Foundation 117th Congress Mary C. Phee Member, Board of Directors of the African Returned to the Foreign Relations Yes (2021-2022) Development Foundation (Reappointment) Presidenta 117th Congress Helaine A. Greenfeld Assistant Attorney General Returned to the Judiciary Yes (Ranking (2021-2022) Presidenta Member) 117th Congress Melanie A. Egorin Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Confirmed, voice Finance Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) Services vote CRS-8 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 Senator Requesting Referral on Final Committee of Committee of Congress Nominee Position Disposition Jurisdiction Jurisdiction? 117th Congress Gwen Graham Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Confirmed, voice Health, Education, Labor, Yes (2021-2022) Congressional Affairs, Department of vote and Pensions Education 117th Congress Patricia L. Ross Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Confirmed, voice Veterans’ Affairs Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) (Congressional and Legislative Affairs) vote 117th Congress Jonathan Davidson Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury Confirmed, 88-10 Finance Yes (Chair) (2021-2022) 117th Congress Victoria B. Wassmer Chief Financial Officer, Department of Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Transportation Presidenta Transportation 117th Congress Mohsin R. Syed Assistant Secretary of Transportation Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2021-2022) Presidenta Transportation 116th Congress Michael J. Finkel Director, Securities Investor Protection Returned to the Banking, Housing, and Urban Yes (2019-2020) Corporation Presidenta Affairs 116th Congress Gregory Autry Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2019-2020) and Space Administration Presidenta Transportation 116th Congress Daniel Huff Assistant Secretary of Commerce Returned to the Commerce, Science, and Yes (2019-2020) Presidenta Transportation 116th Congress Frank Dunlevy Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Returned to the Homeland Security and No (2019-2020) Board Presidenta Governmental Affairs 116th Congress Christopher B. Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Returned to the Homeland Security and No (2019-2020) Burnham Board Presidenta Governmental Affairs 116th Congress John M. Barger Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Returned to the Homeland Security and No (2019-2020) Board Presidenta Governmental Affairs 116th Congress Sarah C. Arbes Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Confirmed, voice Finance Yes (Chair) (2019-2020) Services vote 116th Congress Troy D. Edgar Chief Financial Officer, Department of Confirmed, 62-31 Homeland Security and Yes (Ranking (2019-2020) Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Member) CRS-9 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 Senator Requesting Referral on Final Committee of Committee of Congress Nominee Position Disposition Jurisdiction Jurisdiction? 116th Congress Brian McGuire Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury Confirmed, 88-6 Finance Yes (Chair) (2019-2020) 116th Congress Elizabeth Darling Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Confirmed, 57-37 Finance Yes (Chair) (2019-2020) Families, Department of Health and Human Services 116th Congress Jason J. Fichtner Member, Social Security Advisory Board Returned to the Finance Yes (Chair) (2019-2020) Presidenta 115th Congress Elizabeth Darling Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Returned to the Finance Yes (Chair) (2017-2018) Families, Department of Health and Human Presidenta Services 115th Congress Alan E. Cobb Member, Board of Directors of the Returned to the Commerce, Science, and No (2017-2018) Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Presidenta Transportation 115th Congress Melissa F. Burnison Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional Confirmed, voice Energy and Natural No (2017-2018) and Intergovernmental Affairs) vote Resources 115th Congress Frederick M. Nutt Control er, Office of Federal Financial Returned to the Homeland Security and Yes (2017-2018) Management, Office of Management and Presidenta Governmental Affairs Budget 115th Congress Brooks D. Tucker Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Confirmed, voice Veterans’ Affairs Yes (Ranking (2017-2018) (Congressional and Legislative Affairs) vote Member) 115th Congress Andrew K. Maloney Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury Confirmed, voice Finance Yes (Chair) (2017-2018) vote 115th Congress Stephen El iott Boyd Assistant Attorney General Confirmed, voice Judiciary Yes (Ranking (2017-2018) vote Member) 114th Congress Christopher E. Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Returned to the Veterans' Affairs Yes (Chair) (2015-2016) O'Connor (Congressional and Legislative Affairs) Presidenta 114th Congress Robert D. Reischauer Member, Board of Trustees of the Federal Returned to the Finance Yes (Chair) (2015-2016) Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Presidenta CRS-10 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 14 Senator Requesting Referral on Final Committee of Committee of Congress Nominee Position Disposition Jurisdiction Jurisdiction? 114th Congress Robert D. Reischauer Member, Board of Trustees of the Federal Returned to the Finance Yes (Chair) (2015-2016) made by either the chair or ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction.

s nominations be referred to committee was made by one Senator who served on the committee of jurisdiction and two who did not. CRS-12 Consideration of Privileged Nominations in the Senate Appendix. Privileged Nominations

Figure A-1. Example of Privileged Nominations Section of the Senate Executive Calendar

Source: Notes: