Add Harold Koh to the list of Obama nominees whom Republicans have decided to slow walk to confirmation. At least one senator is, anonymously, holding Koh’s nomination, according to a Senate source.
Koh, who if confirmed will serve as legal adviser to the State Department, was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about three weeks ago, but has languished ever since–a fact which, I’d imagine, makes him thrilled that he resigned as Dean of Yale’s Law School in order to serve in government.
Recall that before the committee vote, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) also placed a hold on Koh’s nomination. That delay only lasted a week.
David Hayes–an Obama Interior Department nominee–is was also being held, though in that case the responsible senator (Bob Bennett of Utah) is was acting publicly. Their problems, though, are different from Dawn Johnsen’s. In her case, Democrats simply don’t have enough votes to overcome a filibuster.
Late update: A previous version of this post suggested that David Hayes’ nomination was still being held by Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT). It is not. David Hayes was confirmed last month.
