Nightly Nuance - October 13, 2021

Hello, my friends. Today, I want to talk about why and how Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley are holding back our national security apparatus.

Every new president has to appoint about 4,000 people to various government positions. The Senate has to confirm about 1,200 of those appointments. This number has grown, and the efficiency of administrations and the Senate has decreased over time. It’s a problem that was identified in stark terms by the 9/11 commission report in 2004. The 9/11 commission identified the lack of key national security officials in place as one of America’s vulnerabilities.

On September 11, 2001, only 57% of key national security appointments were confirmed.

On September 11, 2021, only about 25% of key national security appointments were confirmed.

Let’s discuss.

Resources:

Unconfirmed: Why Reducing the Number Of Senate-confirmed Positions Can Make Government More Effective • Center for Presidential Transition

Biden administration political appointees: Who is filling key roles - Washington Post

Tracking President Joe Biden's Cabinet and appointees

The U.S. Doesn’t Need So Many Political Appointees

Senators slow Biden with holds at Pentagon, State

Texas hold ’em: Biden aides push Cruz to lift ‘death grip’ on nominees

Ted Cruz Is Blocking Biden Nominees

Opinion | How Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and an irrational system make us more vulnerable to the next 9/11

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