Vice President-elect J.D. Vance flew to Washington on Wednesday to block President Joe Biden's nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
On Wednesday afternoon, senators rejected Lauren McFarlane's nomination to remain on the NLRB board by a one-vote margin, giving President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate her replacement.
The 50-49 vote ensures that Democrats will not retain a majority on the NLRB heading into the Trump administration. This term was to last another five years.
Mr. Vance put his transition duties on hold to block the nominee and flew to Washington with the sole purpose of voting against Mr. McFerren.
Breitbart News reported that Vance, who plans to keep his Senate seat until he resigns before being sworn in on January 20, is performing a number of duties but is focused on making appointments to the administration. .
But Vance said he would “move heaven and earth” to block Biden with his vote in Washington.
Breitbart reported in November a statement from Vance and a spokesperson for the transition team:
“As transition co-chair, I am focused on ensuring that President Trump's administration is fully staffed to support America First policies and is ready to fully launch on January 20th,” Vance said. It’s extremely important.” statement. “But it's also important to me that we do everything in our power to block the confirmation of more radical judges. So while it may be unconventional for the vice president-elect to get a vote in the Senate during a lame duck period, If my colleagues here in the Senate say we have a real chance of defeating one of these candidates, I'll be up in the sky, and the Earth will be there to vote.”
Trump and Vance transition spokespeople echoed Vance.
“We cannot allow Chuck Schumer to play games with the personnel skills of the transition,” transition spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement. “Under no circumstances should we allow a radical leftist justice to pass the Senate at 11 p.m., but we need the vice president-elect to continue the transition ahead of schedule.”
Vance's vote Wednesday kept a promise he made in November.
Mr. Vance's focus on staffing the government necessarily distances him from Washington and is consistent with historical norms, but Mr. Vance violated those norms by blocking Biden's candidacy.
In November, Vance became the first senator in a century to vote on judicial nominations after being elected either president or vice president.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
