40
votes
Why don't politicians appoint young and healthy ideological fresh graduates as Supreme Court justices?
Many Judges who have been appointed have turned out not to rule with "the side" that appointed them so those putting them forward need to have a body of work that can be evaluated before ...
- 1,512
31
votes
Why was Kwasi Kwarteng sacked and Jeremy Hunt appointed as the UK finance minister?
It’s not entirely obvious at first glance, as Kwarteng appears to have been sacked for agreeing with the Prime Minister; he set out in his ‘mini budget’ a slate of fiscal policies which Truss herself ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
27
votes
Accepted
How are Trump's nominees stalled in the Senate?
Basically, most of Trump's nominees are still awaiting to clear the respective Senate committees.
As seen from The Washington Post graphic that you cited, most of the nominees are only referred to the ...
- 46.7k
23
votes
Accepted
Are there many high level political appointees who have served two countries in quick succession?
Mark Carney was the governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, and then governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. These are not "political appointments" in the US sense, but ...
- 10.6k
22
votes
Why was Kwasi Kwarteng sacked and Jeremy Hunt appointed as the UK finance minister?
Q: Why is Kwasi Kwarteng sacked?
The so called mini-budget which he developed together with Liz Truss was poorly received by the public and the market. It was not just unpopular, but also doing real-...
- 10.5k
20
votes
Accepted
Why don't politicians appoint young and healthy ideological fresh graduates as Supreme Court justices?
Because politicians want to somewhat plausibly claim the nominations have something to do with career credentials and not merely ideological commitment and likely longevity of the candidate.
Besides, ...
19
votes
Are there many high level political appointees who have served two countries in quick succession?
Mikheil Saakashvili served as the President of Georgia from 2008 till 2013, then as the Governor of Odessa (in Ukraine) from 2015 to 2016.
- 714
18
votes
Why don't politicians appoint young and healthy ideological fresh graduates as Supreme Court justices?
There is an onerous confirmation process to get nominated candidates approved as judges on SCOTUS. People who have not demonstrated sufficient judicial knowledge and aptitude are supposed to be ...
16
votes
Accepted
How does turnover in the Trump administration compare to previous administrations?
A recent Business Insider article reported on this:
His White House has seen more firings, resignations, and reassignments
in its first year than any other young administration in modern
...
- 1,334
13
votes
Why was Kwasi Kwarteng sacked and Jeremy Hunt appointed as the UK finance minister?
According to The Guardian, Truss did this as part of "a desperate attempt to restore her crumbling political authority," with the appointment of Hunt "an apparent move by Truss to reach ...
- 2,291
11
votes
Accepted
What kind of documents are being requested in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing?
We can find a high-level overview of the documents in the response from the National Archives to the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley, sent on August 2, 2018.
This letter was a ...
- 3,592
11
votes
Accepted
What is the point of congressional confirmation hearings?
Why do we bother having these things? What goal do they serve?
Technically, because these things are in the Constitution (Article II, Section 2), to change that you need a constitutional amendment ...
- 3,592
11
votes
Are there any states which never had any appointed Senators?
Yes, according to the Senate Historical Office's list of appointed Senators since 19131. The following three states never had any appointed Senators since 1913:
Maryland
Utah
Wisconsin
1913 is the ...
- 46.7k
10
votes
If a US supreme court nominee is selected by political opportunism, does the nominee ignoring that demonstrate insufficient ethics for the job?
No, it is not an issue.
Assuming the nominee has not personally engaged in unethical acts (such as offering a quid pro quo for appointment) then they haven't done anything wrong and therefore have no ...
- 21.1k
9
votes
Accepted
What examples are there of federal judges being appointed to the Cabinet?
Yes, there are a few more examples, although it's fairly uncommon. Since 1900, I'm aware of another ten appointees to Cabinet-level posts who previously sat as federal judges, not including Mukasey.
...
CDJB♦
- 108k
8
votes
Accepted
Why would the POTUS typically not want to interview U.S. Attorney candidates
There are about 100 US attorneys. The position is a technical one, since the post is non-political. The requirements for the job are one's skills as a lawyer.
Presidents have a busy job, and for ...
- 124k
7
votes
Accepted
What does this mean "upending standard committee rules"?
No rules were broken. Republicans used their majority to change Senate committee rules.
The senate has rules on what's known as quorum. Quorum basically means the minimum number of people that must ...
7
votes
Accepted
Goldman Sachs Alumni in Trump Administration
From Wall Street on Parade:
Steve Bannon
Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury
Gary Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council
Jay Clayton, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange ...
- 90.1k
7
votes
Accepted
What examples are there of former Cabinet secretaries being appointed back to the same position in a future administration?
As John Dallman points out, it is common for a Secretary to continue serving in their post despite a change in President. It is far less common, however, for a Secretary to reprise a role under ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
7
votes
Why don't politicians appoint young and healthy ideological fresh graduates as Supreme Court justices?
Appointing 22 year olds is not realistic, as such people would be too inexperienced (and likely too undertrained, having not even gone to law school) to fulfill the duties of a justice of SCOTUS. ...
- 317
7
votes
Are there many high level political appointees who have served two countries in quick succession?
I wonder if that counts, but Robert Kocharyan
He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the ...
- 17.6k
6
votes
Accepted
How does the Trump administrations "rate of attrition" compare to past administrations?
Politifact cited the same Brookings Institute study in 2018
After a year and a half, 57 percent of Trump’s top White House positions changed hands. (This analysis covers 65 positions.)
For context, ...
- 51.6k
6
votes
Accepted
If a US supreme court nominee is selected by political opportunism, does the nominee ignoring that demonstrate insufficient ethics for the job?
No, nothing in judicial ethics requires (or even permits) judges to evaluate and act on the political nature of their nomination process. The American Bar Association has published a Model Code of ...
- 8,071
6
votes
Accepted
How are peers supposed to be selected?
Peerage in this way is basically a minor noble title. It's not transferrable, nor hereditary so the only way to be made a peer like this is by the current monarch deciding to do so.
The custom or ...
- 19.3k
6
votes
Why don't politicians appoint young and healthy ideological fresh graduates as Supreme Court justices?
The decisions of the Supreme Court (indeed, of any constitutional court) shape the juridical and, as can be seen in cases like Roe vs. Wade and Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, social ...
- 10.3k
6
votes
Why was Kwasi Kwarteng sacked and Jeremy Hunt appointed as the UK finance minister?
Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked for the simple reason that Liz Truss needed a fall guy to pin the blame on for the disastrous and nonsensical "budget" that the two of them cooked up together. The ...
- 1,323
6
votes
Accepted
Where can I find the Senate vote for Lynn Scarlett to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior?
There was no recorded vote on the nomination.
PN227 — Patricia Lynn Scarlett — Department of the Interior
11/18/2005 - Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
- 36.1k
5
votes
Why are Democrats fighting over Conyers seat in Congress?
Unlike the Senate (where each state has its own rules), the Constitution mandates replacement by special election
Vacancies in the House of Representatives typically take far longer to fill. The ...
- 51.6k
5
votes
How do you get a seat in the confirmation hearings?
Unless the committee is specifically in closed session, the public may walk into any committee hearing at any time, no charge or fee needed. Congress is "the People's House" and part of the set up ...
- 16.1k
5
votes
Have any studies been performed which show that campaigning for or being appointed to an office of public trust leads to criminal activity?
There aren't many direct studies on being in elected/appointed positions making you more likely to exhibit criminal behavior. There are more generalized studies that seem to imply that there is a ...
- 13.9k
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