Posted February 17, 2017 | by Kimberly Scott | in Cabinet, DemDaily, Resource, Senate, Trump Administration

DemDaily: The Confirmation Count!

February 17, 2017

This week's count -- following today's confirmation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Confirmed Today

The Cabinet
Nine of the 15 Cabinet or Executive Departments heads have now been confirmed, as well as five of the seven "Cabinet-level" positions.

Labor Secretary Nominee Alexander Acosta

In addition to the Cabinet (which also includes the VP and WH Chief of Staff), there are approximately 1200 positions that require Senate confirmation, 696 of which are considered "key." Total Confirmed To-Date: 34

Most of this week's controversy surrounded the Trump administration's first resignation. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn stepped down after just 24 days on the job due to scrutiny over unauthorized calls to Russian officials prior to being sworn in.

Puzder's replacement, Alexander Acosta, is currently Dean of the Florida International University College of Law, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board, an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under George Bush and US Attorney for Florida's Southern District. He is expected to be confirmed.To-date only two Trump nominees have dropped out prior to the hearing stage - Secretary of the Army (non-cabinet) pick Vincent Viola due to business conflicts, and Secretary of Labor (Cabinet) nominee Andrew Puzder - who withdrew following Republican concerns over negative business and personal allegations.

The Confirmation Count

Confirmed by the US Senate

Position	Confirmed	Hearings Completed	Senate Confirmation Vote Date	Senate Vote Total
Secretary of Homeland Security	John Kelly	January 10	January 20	88 in favor 11 against
Secretary of Defense	James Mattis	January 12	January 20	98 in favor 1 against (*Gillibrand)
Secretary of Transportation	Elaine Chao	January 11	January 31	93 in favor 6 against
Secretary of State	Rex Tillerson	January 11	February 1	56 in favor 43 against
Secretary of Education	Betsy DeVos	January 17	February 7	50 in favor (+VP tiebreak) 50 against
Attorney General	Jeff Sessions	January 11	February 8	52 in favor 47 against
Secretary of Health & Human Services	Tom Price	January 18	February 10	52 in favor 48 against
Secretary of the Treasury	Steve Mnuchin	January 19	February 13	53 in favor 47 against
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	David Shulkin	February 1	February 13	100 in favor 0 against
CIA Director (Cabinet-Level)	Mike Pompeo	January 12	January 23	66 in favor 32 against
U.N. Ambassador (Cabinet-Level)	Nikki Haley	January 18	January 24	96 in favor 4 against
Small Business Admin (Cabinet-Level)	Linda McMahon	January 24	February 14	81 in favor 19 against
Budget Director (Cabinet-Level)	Mick Mulvaney	January 24	February 16	51 in favor 49 against
Administrator of the EPA (Cabinet-Level)	Scott Pruitt	February 2	February 17	52 in favor 46 against

Approved by US Senate Committee: Pending Full Senate Vote

Position	Nominee	Senate Committee	Hearings Completed	Committee Vote Date
Secretary, Housing & Urban Development	Ben Carson	Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs	January 12	January 24
Secretary of Commerce	Wilbur Ross	Commerce, Science, & Transportation	January 18	January 24
Secretary of Energy	Rick Perry	Energy & Natural Resources	January 19	January 31
Secretary of the Interior	Ryan Zinke	Energy & Natural Resources	January 17	January 31