Senator Christopher Dodd refuses to allow hearings on Otto Reich. What's his problem? Is Dodd afraid his smear campaign will be exposed?
JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP (Dec 21, 2001) Senate Confirms Two Bush Nominees--Dodd kicks Otto Reich nomination back to Bush without a vote….[Excerpt] But Democrats then sent Reich's nomination for the State Department's top position for Western Hemisphere affairs back to the president for the second time this year without approving it.
Senate Democrats, led by Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, refused to hold a confirmation hearing for Reich, whom they consider unqualified. The White House also refused to withdraw his name, saying he is the victim of a smear campaign.
Democrats say Reich is too divisive for his position. His supporters claim he is being targeted for his strident opposition toward Cuban leader Fidel Castro From 1983 to 1986, Reich headed a State Department office that was accused of running a prohibited covert propaganda campaign against Nicaragua's then communist-backed government.
Bush returned the nomination to the Senate after getting it back in August. He would have to resubmit the nomination again in January to get it reconsidered by the Senate.
On Friday, Dodd's office released a letter to Bush that was cosigned by Sen. Michael Enzi R-Wyo. The letter strongly urged Bush not to give a recess appointment to Reich during the year-end holiday season.
``Our opposition to this nomination is well known, but what is less well known is that many of our colleagues, including our colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee, have quietly supported our efforts to prevent this nomination from going to the floor,'' Dodd and Enzi wrote.
On Monday, senior administration officials said Bush was considering a recess appointment for Reich if the Senate failed to confirm him.
The Constitution permits a president to make temporary appointments if he acts during Senate recesses.
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Democrats have yet to schedule a hearing on Reich. They question whether his work as a lobbyist for companies involved in Latin America presents conflicts of interest. And they cite his leadership of a State Department office during the Reagan presidency that was accused of running a covert propaganda campaign against Nicaragua's then Communist-leaning Sandinista government. Majority Leader Tom Daschle says Senate opponents may filibuster his nomination, preventing a vote. ``If they're not going to be given fair treatment, then they are going to have to consider recess appointments,'' Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said of the White House. ---Source--( JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP -Dec. 27, 2001)