Hillary Has to Wait for Confirmation

Seven Obama Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointees were confirmed Tuesday — but Hillary Clinton was forced to wait until at least Wednesday to officially take over at the State Department.

Senate Democrats hoped to confirm Clinton Tuesday afternoon, but Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn forced a one-day delay.

With Cornyn objecting to the unanimous consent motion for a voice vote on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a roll call vote for Wednesday.

In a statement, Cornyn said he was “pleased to have the opportunity to have a full and open debate and an up-or-down vote” on Clinton’s nomination. He has expressed concerns about increasing oversight of former President Bill Clinton’s foundation.

“Important questions remain unanswered concerning the Clinton Foundation and its acceptance of donations from foreign entities,” Cornyn said. “Transparency transcends partisan politics, and the American people deserve to know more.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, Clinton and Cornyn were seen after the Inauguration having a cordial but intense discussion under the Washington statue in the Capitol rotunda, just out of earshot.

On Monday, Clinton brushed Cornyn back in a letter of her own obtained by Politico, quoting her testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee and her five-page agreement with Obama.

“I will be focused on one thing and one thing only — and that is safeguarding and advancing the security, the prosperity and the values of the people of this country,” she wrote.

The list of those confirmed by unanimous consent:

*Steven Chu as energy secretary

*Arne Duncan as education secretary

*Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security

*Peter Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget

*Ken Salazar as interior secretary

*Eric Shinseki as veterans affairs secretary

*Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary

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