Senate delays Yellen vote until January

The Senate agreed late Thursday to postpone a vote on Janet Yellen to be the next Federal Reserve Board chair until January.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asked unanimous consent to hold a vote Friday to end debate on Yellen, but then delay her confirmation vote until Jan. 6. It was accepted without argument.

That move spares the Senate from holding her confirmation vote late Saturday afternoon, and likely makes Friday the Senate’s last work day of 2013.

{mosads}The delayed Yellen vote was made in the context of another procedural agreement that will also spare the Senate from holding a vote Friday morning at 4:15 a.m.

Under Reid’s request, the Senate will vote at about 11:15 p.m. tonight to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. Immediately afterward, the Senate will vote to end debate on the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to be the next deputy secretary of Homeland Security.

If the Senate agrees to end debate on that nomination, the next series of votes will take place at 10 a.m. Friday morning.

In order, those votes will be on the confirmation of Mayorkas, a vote to end debate on John Koskinen to be the next IRS commissioner, a vote to confirm Koskinen, a vote to end debate on Brian Davis to be a district judge in Florida, a vote to confirm Davis, and then the vote to end debate on Yellen.

Reid’s schedule announcement once again lets the Senate avoid voting in the late or weekend hours. House Republicans have forced the Senate to stay in session, as part of a protest against the decision by Senate Democrats to gut the GOP’s filibuster power over nominations.