Biden s Cabinet is mostly empty amid Senate bottleneck despite Democratic control Print this article
More than two-thirds of President Biden s Cabinet nominees are stuck in a procedural bottleneck as they wait to be considered by the Democratic-run chamber.
Biden was sworn into office with more nominees ready to go than any of his recent predecessors. But only seven of his 23 Cabinet-level officials have been Senate-confirmed one month into his administration. Another handful of picks have cleared their respective Senate committees; they re simply waiting to receive a full-floor vote in the chamber. And more have hearings scheduled for next week.
But as the new White House takes over the country s coronavirus pandemic without a Health and Human Services secretary or a confirmed head of the Education Department, the Senate last week was not in legislative session. Instead, senators took a weeklong break from floor activity and committee work after acting as jurors during former P