Senate reaches deal to vote on Clinton confirmation

The Senate will
vote Wednesday on the confirmation of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the
next secretary of state under an agreement reached Tuesday between Democrats
and Republicans.

{mosads}Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Tuesday that the Senate leaders agreed to hold
the roll call vote at 4:30 p.m., signaling an end to wrangling between the New
York Democrat and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Cornyn had been
blocking the vote for what he called conflict-of-interest concerns over
President Bill Clinton’s foundation.

Cornyn issued a
statement Tuesday saying, “Important questions remain unanswered concerning the
Clinton Foundation and its acceptance of donations from foreign entities.

“Transparency
transcends partisan politics and the American people deserve to know more,”
Cornyn said.

Under the
unanimous consent agreement Reid reached with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.), seven other members of President Obama’s Cabinet were confirmed
Tuesday by a voice vote.

They include the
following nominees: Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne
Duncan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Office Of Management and
Budget Director Peter Orszag, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.