WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defended President Obama’s right to pick his team, trying to build support ahead of a fight with Republicans over changing Senate rules to speed up executive nominations.
Reid is seeking to end delays in confirming Obama nominees including the Labor secretary and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. While the Nevada Democrat said on July 11 he has enough votes to change Senate rules and bar the minority party from obstructing executive-branch nominees, Republicans said they may halt Senate business in protest.
“Whoever is president should be able to have the people on their team that they want,” Reid said today on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” ‘‘The changes we’re making are very, very minimal. What we’re doing is saying: Look, American people, shouldn’t President Obama have somebody working for him that he wants?”
The delays have prevented Obama from filling vacancies in his second-term Cabinet and other top jobs. A vote on the nominees could come as early as this week.
The nominations of Thomas Perez to run the Labor Department, Gina McCarthy to lead the EPA and Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau risk failing in a filibuster. It takes 60 votes to end the delaying tactic, and Democrats have 54 votes, including two independents.