Late yesterday, Harry Reid decided to call Jim DeMint's bluff. As we know, Erroll Southers would be heading the TSA right now if not for a DeMint hold. However, Reid is going to ignore it.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will force a vote on President Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration when Congress reconvenes in three weeks.
Reid's announcement Tuesday that he will file a motion for cloture, a procedural step to limit debate and lead to a roll-call vote, follows the alleged attempt by a Nigerian extremist to blow up a Detroit-bound commercial flight on Christmas Day.
Reid had sought Senate consent to confirm TSA nominee Erroll Southers without floor debate, along with multiple other nominations, before the Senate adjourned for its winter break Christmas Eve.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) objected, temporarily halting the confirmation, as part of his opposition to unionizing the TSA, which he believes Obama will push.
With a cloture vote likely to pass, Southers should be in office sometime in early January.
In an approach eerily similar to Republican attempts to slow down health care reform, DeMint claims all he wants is more time to debate Southers.
"I'm only looking for some time to debate the issue and have a vote so this isn't done in secret," DeMint said. He added that he hoped the debate and the alleged terrorism attempt "will convince Reid and President Obama that we cannot give union bosses veto power over national security at our airports."
Um, Jim? You had that chance to ask those questions when Southers' nomination was in committee. But did you? No!