Of course....Bush JUST APPOINTS PEOPLE AS HE WAS APPOINTED PRESIDENT....WHO NEEDS THE OTHER BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT>>>>
EVEN WHEN YOU CONTROL THEM!!!!!?
UPDATE - Bush may bypass Congress to name FTC boss-sources
Wednesday July 21, 5:30 pm ET
By Peter Kaplan
(Adds White House comment)
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The Bush administration may install a new chief to run the U.S. Federal Trade Commission after Congress recesses for summer break to sidestep opposition from some Senate Democrats, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
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The White House is weighing whether to forge ahead with the stalled FTC nomination of antitrust lawyer Deborah Majoras using a "recess appointment" sometime after Congress leaves at the end of this week.
"They want to put somebody into the job," said one source on Capitol Hill. "They need to take care of it, and they're not going to wait."
Such a maneuver would break a deadlock over Majoras' nomination, which has been dogged by Senate Democrats upset about rising gasoline prices. The FTC is charged with enforcing U.S. consumer protection and antitrust laws.
White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said, "We do not speculate on personnel announcements."
Majoras' nomination was expected to receive a favorable recommendation from the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday. But opponents are expected to block it from getting to a vote in the full Senate.
Bush named Majoras to succeed FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, who is scheduled to leave the position later this summer.
Majoras, a former deputy chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division, has pledged to impose tough scrutiny on the oil industry and investigate the shortfall in U.S. oil refining capacity.
But opponents of the nomination, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Barbara Boxer of California, have demanded she come up with specific plans to curb high gasoline prices.
The two lawmakers have also demanded Majoras scrutinize Royal Dutch/Shell Group's (Amsterdam:RD.AS - News; London:SHEL.L - News) decision to shut down an oil refinery in California.
The two senators have expressed concern that the closing the Bakersfield, California, refinery would hurt competition and further boost West Coast gasoline prices.
Recess appointments are only effective for one year, but the White House has used it to install several federal judges over Democratic opposition. |
