Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has prepared a procedural cloture motion vote to take place in the upper chamber of the United States Congress Tuesday evening. The move is aimed at speeding the confirmation for Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to serve as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The preparation of the vote was first reported by Politico.
In terms of additional deliberation, the Senate “will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Marcia Fudge as Biden’s HUD Secretary,” according to Politico.
The procedural tactic to be used by Leader Schumer is also being paired with a similar measure for the confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland to be confirmed as the next United States Attorney General, where he will head up the U.S. Justice Department. Currently, Matthew E. Ammon is serving as the Acting HUD Secretary, while Robert M. “Monty” Wilkinson is serving as the acting attorney general.
A cloture motion is a vote designed to end debate on a particular issue, requiring that a final vote on a measure be taken up within 30 hours while limiting the ability of any opposing senators to invoke a filibuster. Such a vote usually requires a three-fifths majority (60 votes), and effectively ends debate on a particular issue to proceed with relevant business. If invoked, it is expected that both Fudge and Garland will be confirmed for their respective positions.
In terms of the nomination of Rep. Fudge, it is likely to pass without much opposition. While Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee did express concern over some comments that Fudge has made in the past casting doubt on Republicans’ willingness to address matters of racial inequality, multiple prominent Republicans still voted to progress Fudge’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
“One of the things I continue to encourage [Rep. Fudge] to do is to have an open door towards the Republicans on this committee and through Congress, because it’s going to be very important for this nation to see Congress working together, especially when we disagree on the underlying issues,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who voted to advance Fudge’s nomination.
Rep. Fudge was named by President Joe Biden as his nominee for HUD Secretary in December, the month following his presidential election victory over Former President Donald Trump. As the nominee-designate to lead HUD, Fudge is coming off of a 12-year career in Congress representing Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Cleveland and Akron.
Prior to serving in Congress, Fudge earned a law degree from Cleveland State University Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, and entered politics in 2000 after being elected mayor of Cleveland-area suburb Warrensville Heights, becoming the first female and first African-American mayor of the city.
Read the report at Politico.
