Sen. Menendez blocks two ag-related nominees at 11th hour

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) prevented the Senate confirmation of two ag-related nominees this week.

The two fairly non-controversial nominations were set to be confirmed by voice vote in the Senate Wednesday afternoon, but Menendez objected just beforehand, derailing the effort to fast-track the confirmations and leaving senators and aides no time to reorganize before lawmakers left for the holidays, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

“Everything was clear and then at the last minute he objected,” said one of the people.

A spokesperson for Menendez confirmed the senator blocked the nominations of Basil Gooden for USDA undersecretary of rural development and Summer Mersinger, who was renominated for a commissioner role the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The spokesperson said the senator did so in protest of the Biden administration’s “lack of responsiveness” to Menendez and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during the ongoing talks with Republicans to pass a supplemental spending bill for Ukraine aide in exchange for border security funding.

The CHC and progressives have grown increasingly irritated with the White House’s willingness to negotiate over new border policy as part of a larger foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel. Menendez wanted to show his “dissatisfaction” with the administration’s current response on the border, according to the spokesperson. The Senator conveyed his hold on the nominations to Democratic leadership prior to this week, however, the spokesperson added. He didn't lift the hold as senators scrambled to try to confirm the pair of nominations.

Internal Democratic divisions: But some senators and aides saw the move as retribution for Agriculture Chair and No. 3 Senate Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan calling for Menendez’s resignation following his federal indictment on corruption charges.

Stabenow was the first member of Senate Democratic leadership to call for Menendez to step down following his federal indictment on bribery and other charges. Federal prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and other bribes in exchange for using the the senator's position to benefit business associates and the government of Egypt.

The Menendez spokesperson said it’s “simply not true” the move had anything to do with Stabenow calling for Menendez’s resignation.

Nominees: Gooden and Mersinger will now likely have to wait several more months to be confirmed, according to the two people.

A spokesperson for Stabenow didn't respond to an inquiry.