Two BIS Nominees Confirmed by Senate
Yesterday the U.S. Senate confirmed Kevin Wolf to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration and David Mills to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement.
These two confirmations, along with 25 positions at other agencies, occurred after Senate Republicans earlier this week released a hold on a number of pending nominees following President Obama's threat to fill open positions by way of a recess appointment while the Senate is in recess next week.
However, the Senate confirmations did not include the nomination of Eric Hirschhorn to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, the most senior position at the Bureau of Industry and Security. Mr. Hirschhorn's nomination was reported to the full Senate and has been included on the Senate calendar since December 17, 2009. Mr. Hirschhorn and 35 other nominees still await Senate confirmation. It is expected that the Senate will act on Mr. Hirschhorn's nominations in the coming weeks.
In a statement issued by President Obama after yesterdays' confirmations, he said that the Senate's action "is a good first step, there are still dozens of nominees on hold who deserve a similar vote, and I will be looking for action from the Senate when it returns from recess. If they do not act, I reserve the right to use my recess appointment authority in the future."
Labels: BIS
|posted by Douglas N. Jacobson| Permalink 
