McConnell Warns FEC Stalemate Will Continue

The Federal Election Commission stalemate intensified Wednesday afternoon despite a new slate of nominations sent to the Senate by the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), said he would not allow Democrats a separate vote on each nominee and instead wanted the FEC nominees voted on as a package, which would ensure approval of the most controversial GOP pick, Hans von Spakovsky. Democrats have made it clear that von Spakovsky would not pass the Senate while the other four nominees would be approved.

The FEC consists of six commissioners, and the agency needs a minimum of four commissioners to meet a quorum and issue legal opinions. Since the beginning of this year, the FEC has had only two working commissioners and has been unable to deal with everything from John McCain's public financing to every day legal opinions on campaign ads.

McConnell said no deal has been made and he wants von Spakovsky approved along with the two pending Democrats and two pending Republican nominees.

McConnell said "they'll either let all six [ commissioners] go, or we will not have solved the problem."

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), says Democrats will ask for individual up or down votes on all the nominees, and if Republicans object, the stalemate will continue.