U.S. Senate Confirms Solis
U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats decided this morning that no GOP filibuster would be made, and thus no cloture vote would be needed to confirm former U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., as the new U.S. secretary of Labor. Shortly after 5 p.m. Eastern time, the Labor Department's Web site posted a photo of Solis announcing her confirmation. Getting her confirmed took more than a month, although that's faster than President Obama has managed to achieve in filling the Commerce secretary's post.
Her nomination was delayed twice, once over tax problems involving Solis' husband and then when Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., demanded and received an affidavit stating Solis did not possess check-writing or -signing authority when she was treasurer of American Rights at Work, a pro-union advocacy group located in Washington, D.C.
Solis had strong support from organized labor and backs the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure that would make it easier for unions to organize U.S. workplaces. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers opposed her.