Those nominees who are not confirmed by the conclusion of this Congress are sent back to the White House to be renominated, and the process is repeated.

This makes it more important to confirm Pentagon nominees before the end of the year, when the Senate will be controlled by Republicans. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) says that the election will depend on whether or not all outstanding Pentagon candidates are approved.

At a Council on Foreign Relations event last month, Reed stated, “If there is a Democratic Senate in the next term, then we have a little more flexibility to move off of judges and move to other areas.” “I think there will be an all-out rush to get as many judges as possible confirmed if we lose the majority, which is 50-50 at the moment, and that would impede the ability to get DoD people in.”

Over his first two years in office, 43 of Biden’s Pentagon candidates have been confirmed, but 11 picks are still awaiting a final Senate vote. Since March, four of the nominees have been pending votes for confirmation.

Some nominees waiting for votes are the top Pentagon watchdog, the top health officer, two senior acquisition chiefs, and the department’s top liaison to Congress.

Two of Biden’s nominees who are still waiting for confirmation hearings from the Armed Services Committee are the inspector general for the National Reconnaissance Office and the top officials in charge of the Pentagon’s workforce and reserve affairs.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has been against fast-tracking confirmations because he doesn’t like how Vice President Biden is pulling out of Afghanistan, which is a big reason for the stalemate.

Nominees cannot be stopped from taking their positions by opposition from a single senator. But Hawley’s blocking forces Senate leaders to hold more votes on how to do things, which takes up more time on the floor.

Widespread bipartisan support for a compromise to confirm a group of candidates could ensure that many officials start their jobs by the new year and avoid going through the process again and possibly facing a GOP-led Senate. But it doesn’t seem that such an agreement is imminent just yet.

According to Arnold Punaro, a former staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee, if Democrats prioritize appointing judges to the bench before losing power, the Senate won’t have that time.

Punaro added, “We’re under the two-minute drill regarding legislative days.” Even if you claim they’ll work through Christmas until Jan. 2, when the new Congress gets sworn in, there are 25 judges scheduled who are essential to the administration.

He said that the executive branch must put pressure on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to make strengthening the defense bench a top priority during the lame-duck session, despite “major obstacles.” Punaro is especially eager for two nominees to be approved. Laura Taylor-Kale would be in charge of industrial base policy at the Pentagon, and Radha Plumb would be the No. 2 officer in charge of acquisition and maintenance.

The Senate should give defense candidates a higher priority “depending on what they want our business to do” to assist in arming Ukraine, he said.

You need to be able to collaborate with Senate-confirmed individuals, Punaro said. There is a difference, but career folks are OK.

Ash Carter, the late former defense secretary who served in the Obama administration as the Pentagon’s chief weapons purchaser, even offered last month to help persuade officials to hold votes on Plumb and Taylor-Kale. Carter passed away last week. Punaro said that the former head of the Pentagon agreed to the plan on Friday before he died after they had talked about it several times.

Nickolas Guertin, a Pentagon weapons tester and Biden’s choice to lead the Navy’s acquisition efforts, is on the waiting list even though the White House hasn’t formally nominated him. His appointment comes at a time when the Navy is fighting with Congress over whether or not to destroy several ships that it says it can’t afford to keep up with. But because Guertin’s nomination took so long, his confirmation will likely be put off until the next session.

Glenn Fine, a former Pentagon inspector general, also wants the Senate to confirm an IG because the job has been open for more than six years. Robert Storch, Biden’s choice for the job, was given the thumbs-up by the Armed Services Committee in March but has yet to be put to a vote. Fine labeled the postponement “a mistake” in an opinion piece for the Government Executive on October 20.

“Holding an office permanently differs from serving in an acting capacity.” Some staff members at the agency, including some in the IG’s office, believe they can hold you off, Fine wrote. A permanent IG can also make it easier to set long-term policies for employees and decide on a strategy.

Early in 2020, then-President Donald Trump forced Finkel out of his acting position and brought in Sean O’Donnell, the EPA’s inspector general. After over two years of the Biden administration, O’Donnell still holds both positions.

It’s challenging enough to serve as an IG for one agency. When one of the IG roles covers the largest agency in the government, it is practically impossible to manage two duties at once, Fine wrote.

Despite the impasse, Biden has made headway in selecting his Pentagon team. The Senate has approved 57 civilian jobs at the Pentagon. The assistant secretary for acquisition is the only one for whom no candidate exists.

When the Senate gets back together the week after the elections, military leaders will put most of their attention on passing their annual defense policy bill. A compromise bill that can reach Biden’s desk by the end of the year is what Reed and ranking Republican Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma hope to produce, given the little time left in the session.

Uncertainty over whether Senate Democrats will press the matter on nominees for national security positions that have stalled Reed

In a way, Reed said, “It’s bothersome because we’re talking about folks who play essential roles in protecting the welfare and safety of men and women in the field.”

Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network