Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who has become a one-man filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment benefits, apparently placed a hold on all presidential nominees last week.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office confirms to TPMDC that Bunning has placed the holds.
“It turns out that not only has he been blocking the unemployment insurance bill, he has also been blocking the confirmation of nominees since last week as well,” said Reid spokesman Jim Manley.
Bunning’s spokesman tells TPMDC that he doesn’t know about the holds.
“I don’t know that. Right now the senator’s number one priority is reaching an agreement to get this bill paid for and passed,” said the spokesman, Mike Reynard.
The senator, who is not seeking re-election this year, has been objecting to requests to bring an unemployment bill to the floor, grinding the Senate to a halt. Democrats say they haven’t begun cloture proceedings to get around his objection because the process would take several days. Unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of people will expire over the next month without the extension.
(H/T Jay Newton-Small)
