Senate confirms Sonderling as labor secretary, recesses until after elections

Sonderling confirmed as labor secretary before recess

The U.S. Senate adjourned on Oct. 1 until after the November elections, freeing members facing re-election to return home and campaign. The Hill reported that senators are scheduled to return Nov. 9 and will be in session for only eight days in November and 14 days in December, with the latter figure counting Fridays that are not typically Senate work days.

Just before they adjourned, senators voted to approve Keith Sonderling, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor. Republicans used their last day in session to force Democrats to vote on two bills: one would have asked states to consider new ways to protect taxpayers from the expense of upgrading water infrastructure for data centers; the other would have banned members of Congress from buying publicly traded stocks. Democrats blocked both, mostly along party lines, and characterized the measures as “toothless” show votes.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Republican effort was successful. “Given the overwhelming support for this measure in the House,” Thune said of the data center bill, “it’s difficult to conclude that Senate Democrats blocked this bill for any reason other than the desire to deny Republicans another win in an election year, which is a pretty poor reason.”

Republicans in the Senate are worried about the elections. “No matter how much you love us as Republicans, we’re in control,” Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said. “If you can’t pay the bills, you’ve got a real problem with us.”

UPI reported that the most impactful legislation the Senate has passed in the last few weeks was an overhaul of college sports. “I can assure you that moms and dads out there across America, when they lie down to sleep at night, they’re not worried about the football coaches,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said last week.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said senators in tight races wanted to get home as soon as possible, The Hill reported. “I think we’ll have a net loss. I think it’s unlikely we’d have the same numbers. The margins will be thinner,” Tillis said.

Tillis added that keeping vulnerable senators in Washington hurts them. “Every time you’re here, it’s a fundraiser you can’t host or it’s a town hall you can’t speak at,” he said. “We need to get them back in the state. Invariably, the people who want to stick here, they all have one thing in common: They’re not up [for reelection] this cycle.”