It's taking longer for presidents to get their political appointees confirmed by the Senate, according to a report by the Center for Presidential Transition.
Driving the news: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has threatened to block Biden's nominees until the Senate Intelligence Committee receives the classified documents found at both President Biden and former President Trump's residences.
- Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Commitee told CNN on Thursday that in doing so, Cotton "will undermine the national security of the United States."
By the numbers: It has taken an average of nearly 145 days for Biden's political appointees to receive Senate confirmation — a jump from other recent presidents at this point in their terms.
What they're sayiing: "We need reasonable fixes to the way the Senate schedules and reviews these nominations – and we need to start by reducing the large number of positions requiring confirmation in the first place," Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service, told Axios in a statement.