Despite Objections, Mr. Nussle is Going Back to Washington After All

(Updated Presidential Candidate Roll Call: None of the presidential candidates serving in the Senate voted “yeah” to confirm Jim Nussle for White House director of the OMB, which is not too surprising, when considering only two of the six candidates actually voted. Sens. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Hillary Clinton, D-NY, were the only candidates present and both cast a “no” vote. Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Ks., Chris Dodd, D-Ct., John McCain, R-Az., and Barack Obama, D-Il., did not vote on Nussle’s confirmation.)

Iowa’s 2006 gubernatorial runner-up, Jim Nussle, is returning to his political nest in D.C., where he’ll serve as President Bush’s new director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle’s nomination had to weather an August recess, a Senatorial hold and a heated three-hour debate before being confirmed by the Senate 69-24.

Several Democrats, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., saw Nussle’s confirmation hearing as an opportunity to criticize the fiscal policies of the Bush Administration. “Mr. Nussle is the wrong man at the wrong time for this position,” Sanders said during the hearing. “President Bush and his administration have become increasingly isolated and out of touch with the economic realities facing ordinary Americans,” Sanders said. “The president needs a budget director who is not afraid to tell the president the truth about these harsh economic realities, not an echo.”

As expected, Iowa’s senators, who had indicated their intentions before the recess, voted to confirm Nussle. “He is a skilled and savvy operator,” said Tom Harkin. “He is a straight shooter whose word is his bond.”In a prepared statement that Chuck Grassley read on the Senate floor, he had nothing but praise for his fellow Iowan and took issue with those objecting his nomination. “Some have chosen to use Congressmen Nussle’s nomination to take issue with the President’s fiscal and economic policies,” said Grassley. “I’d point out to my colleagues that while they portray the economy as nothing but doom and gloom, the facts suggest otherwise. Unemployment remains at historically low levels.  Most recently, the unemployment rate stood at 4.6 percent.  July was the 47th consecutive month with job gains. Over 8.3 million new jobs have been created during those 47 months.”

Some of Grassley’s rivals were less optimistic about Nussle’s ability to direct the White House OMB. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called the nomination an “outrage” and urged its rejection. “I would not vote for a man who put a bag over his head in the House of Representatives” because it shows “hostility to this great democracy,” said Boxer. She was referring to an episode early in Nussle’s career in which he donned a bag to protest the House check-bouncing scandal.

However, other Democrats saw Nussle’s confirmation as a chance to reach some bipartisanship, which will be needed with less than four weeks remaining until the end of the fiscal year Oct. 1. As of now, only one of the twelve annual appropriations bills has been considered by the Senate. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said he was ready to believe Nussle’s promises during his confirmation hearings that he would work in bipartisan fashion to repair rifts between Congress and the White House.

Wyden said bridge-building will be needed to resolve differences between Congress and the administration over the renewal and expansion of a popular children’s health insurance program. Other Democrats backing Nussle included Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Jon Tester of Montana, Carl Levin of Michigan, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Max Baucus of Montana, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Jim Webb of Virginia.

Regardless of who did and didn’t vote to confirm Nussle, it looks like Mr.Nussle will have his work cut out for him when he returns to Washington.