Earlier this week the Senate, in a showdown between Democrats and Republicans over filibuster rules, struck a deal to confirm many of President Obama's pending federal appointments.
As part of the deal, two persons given recess appointments in 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — and later renominated when their appointments were ruled unconstitutional — have been replaced by two new nominees.
The recess appointees, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, are now out, and Nancy Schiffer and Kent Hirozawa have become their replacements. Senate Republicans now must consent to an up-or-down vote on the two new nominees without resorting to a filibuster.
As part of the deal, the Senate will also vote on the remaining NLRB appointees — Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce and Republicans Harry I. Johnson III and Philip A. Miscimarra — as well as on Labor Department Secretary nominee Thomas Perez.
Immediately following the compromise on Tuesday, the Senate moved forward the nomination of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), whose recess appointment was also under a cloud following the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' earlier ruling. His appontment is now secure.