Senate Rules Committee Approves FEC Nominee

On June 11 the Senate Rules and Administration Committee [1] approved President Obama's nomination of John Sullivan for a Democratic seat of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Sullivan's nomination now goes to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote. Sullivan has been a lawyer at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) since 1997.

Interestingly, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hinted during the hearing that the committee may focus on FEC oversight in the future. Schumer said [2], "Recently, there has been much attention paid to the 3-3 split on votes by the FEC Commissioners on many key issues. Consistent deadlocks on important decisions, including advisory opinions and enforcement matters and regulations, leave these matters unresolved. The seamless functioning and well-being of the FEC is of utmost importance. And there will come a time for this Committee to look into these issues. Yet today, we focus solely on Mr. Sullivan’s qualifications and how he envisions his role at the FEC."

Sullivan has received some criticism, particularly for a comment letter to the FEC on the Wisconsin Right To Life rulemaking. The letter questioned the need for disclosure rules for electioneering communications. During the hearing, Sullivan said those comments opposing disclosure reflected the interests of his client, but not necessarily his personal views.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Washington Post [3] took note of the recent 3-3 split decisions at the FEC and blames the Republican commissioners. "The three Republican appointees are turning the commission into The Little Agency That Wouldn't: wouldn't launch investigations, wouldn't bring cases, wouldn't even accept settlements that the staff had already negotiated. This is not a matter of partisan politics. These commissioners simply appear not to believe in the law they have been entrusted with enforcing."