How Can The Senate Vote On The Cabinet If Obama Is Not Yet President?

With the 111th Congress all settled in, Karen Schafer of Rio Rancho, N.M., has this question:

What's the best way to find out the office address of a newly elected U.S. senator or representative?

You can find out everything you want about members of the Senate, including their office address, by going to the official Senate Web site. The same information for House members can be found at the House Clerk's Web site.

You can also always send a note to any senator c/o Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, and to any representative at House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.

And how can they be holding Cabinet confirmation hearings if Barack Obama is not yet the president? That's what Nathan Irwin of Peoria, Ill., wants to know:

We all know that Cabinet members are nominated by the president, subject to Senate confirmation. But how can these nominations be taken up this early? Obama, of course, takes office on Jan. 20, at which point he has the authority to send his nominations to the Senate, but before that date, he's not the president.

Because Obama is, as you correctly say, not yet the president, he has not officially "nominated" anyone to his Cabinet. But he has named them. And the idea is for the Cabinet to be in place the moment Obama takes office. What happens is the respective Senate committees investigate the choices, hold the confirmation hearings and then vote on them -- that's what's going on now. Once Obama is sworn in on Jan. 20, he then officially nominates the members of his Cabinet, and the full Senate votes on them.

Here's a question from Debbie Warren of Milwaukee, Wis:.

What's the date of Obama's State of the Union address this year?

The short answer is that there is none. A newly elected president doesn't have an SOTU address, but he does give a speech to both houses of Congress, usually to discuss his goals. George W. Bush, first sworn in on Jan. 20, 2001, gave his speech to Congress on Feb. 27. There is no date scheduled as of yet for Obama's congressional speech.

Finally, a question all of America -- including Jeff Roberts of Ankeny, Iowa -- is asking:

What relation, if any, is Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to Iowa's former Sen. Bourke Hickenlooper (1945-68)?

Actually, Bruce Gerhardt of Omaha, Neb., asked the same thing a while back. It came up when Mayor Hickenlooper was high on the list of prospective Senate replacements for Ken Salazar (D-CO) once he is confirmed as secretary of interior. So it may indeed be a question that's sweeping the nation. Just like Baby Fish Mouth.

Anyway, according to Sabrina D'Agosta of the mayor's office, there was a relationship: They were cousins.

7:45 AM ET | 01-14-2009 | permalink

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