This Senate Committee Chairman Values Reelection Over Doing His Job

Richard Shelby (image from Shelby's Facebook)
Richard Shelby (image from Shelby’s Facebook)

Until today, I thought that the Senate Republican leadership’s refusal to even consider anyone President Obama nominates as a replacement for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was the strongest example yet that the Republican Party has become a far-right party. Well, Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times provided an even better example. For almost two years, an important Senate committee has been all but paralyzed because its chairman cares more about his reelection than actually governing.

Richard Shelby of Alabama is currently running for his sixth term–and his fourth full term as a Republican. He was elected to the Senate in 1986 as a Democrat, and became a Republican barely 24 hours after the Republicans won control of that chamber for only the second time since 1954. When the Republicans retook control of the Senate in 2015, Shelby regained the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee, a post he’d previously held from 2003 to 2007.

In a chamber whose members usually distinguish themselves by what they’ve done for their states and the nation, Shelby has stood out for what he hasn’t done. The Banking Committee is the only committee that has not sent a presidential nomination to the full Senate during this Congress. Incredibly, 16 people have been waiting for Shelby’s committee to act on their nominations. Out of that total, only three have even gotten a hearing.

The Federal Reserve Board, for instance, normally has seven members–but two prospective governors have yet to get a hearing. The Export-Import Bank, which finances foreign purchases of American goods for businesses that can’t get credit from the private sector, is supposed to have a five-member board–but three prospective directors haven’t been confirmed. The Federal Transit Administration has a number of important safety issues to address, but its administrator has been awaiting confirmation for almost two years. Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department under secretary who oversees economic sanctions affecting thousands of people and groups around the world, is only serving on an acting basis because he has yet to be confirmed.

Shelby says that he is displeased that the White House hasn’t nominated anyone to serve as vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve. But in truth, Shelby’s real focus is his own reelection. He crassly told The Times that he wasn’t in the mood to discuss his committee’s backlog because “my primary is Tuesday!” In that primary, he faces a credible opponent for the first time in recent memory–Jonathan McConnell, a entrepreneur and Iraq veteran. McConnell is running well to Shelby’s right, pointing out that a number of “tried and true conservatives” still remember that Shelby used to be a Democrat. He also accuses Shelby of being part of the “do-nothing Washington culture.”

That charge is rather ironic, since Shelby’s (in)actions have hamstrung critical parts of our government at a critical time. The Federal Reserve has been forced to debate decisions on interest rates without a full board. The Export-Import Bank is unable to authorize loans greater than $10 million because its board doesn’t have a quorum–a state of affairs that, according to Boeing spokeswoman Kate Bernard, endangers our ability to compete. A number of foreign countries and businesses feel awkward about working with Szubin because he is only an acting under secretary.

Needless to say, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, isn’t thrilled at Shelby’s inertia, saying that it has had “impact on people’s lives.” The committee’s Democrats sent Shelby a blistering letter on Tuesday, reminding him that under his watch, “the committee has failed to carry out one of its basic duties.” I seem to recall that a decade ago, Shelby and his fellow Republicans were whining about how the Senate Democrats weren’t allowing George W. Bush’s judicial nominees an up or down vote. Pot, meet kettle.

To my mind, Shelby’s disgraceful behavior should be a compelling reason by itself for Democrats to go to the polls in November even without his colleagues’ tacky refusal to act on a replacement for Scalia. All together? Calling this an irresponsible way to govern would be being extremely kind.

You know what to do, folks. Pester Shelby on Facebook and on Twitter, and tell him to start doing his job–even if he loses the primary. If you live in Alabama, pester him here.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.