MSNBC reports that a fourth Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski expressed concern about Bolton:
A spokeswoman for Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said the senator felt the committee “did the right thing delaying the vote on Bolton in light of the recent information presented to the committee.”
Asked if Bolton had Murkowski’s support, spokeswoman Kristin Pugh said, “I can’t speculate on how she would vote.”
Murkowski joins Republican Senators George Voinovich of Ohio, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in having second thoughts about Bolton's confirmation.
The committee today set May 12 for their vote on Bolton.
The Associated Press reports that Senators traditionally let presidents have their picks for the Cabinet and other senior executive branch jobs.
Sarah Binder, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University told the Associated Press that it is rare for the Senate to not give the president deference for appointments.
According to the Associated Press, since 1789, presidents have made hundreds of Cabinet appointments, and the Senate failed to confirm just 15 - nine rejections, four withdrawals, two died in committee, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University, finds the Bolton nomination similar to the 1989 fight over former Texas Senator John G. Tower to be defense secretary. The allegations of Tower having a drinking problem and womanizing seem much different than the allegations that Bolton is disrespectful to subordinates.
We will see what happens on May 12. Three weeks is a long time in a political struggle like this.
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