Jim Inhofe: “I hate to interrupt this love-in, but I want an opportunity to explain my actions. First of all, I want to say to the…”

“I hate to interrupt this love-in, but I want an opportunity to explain my actions. First of all, I want to say to the majority leader that I appreciate his acknowledgement of the accuracy of what happened on November 19. That is important to me. There have been some erroneous statements made in various newspapers reflecting the existence of other lists, and all that. The bottom line is this: We made a request, the list came forward, and 10 minutes before we adjourned on November 19 we read from the list. I believe there were strong reasons why the two particular nominees, Weisberg and Fox, would have been unacceptable. There are several Senators I have spoken with who would have found them unacceptable-- frankly, I am one of them--and who would have been placed holds on those two individuals had they known that recess appointments were imminent. Some would have placed holds or at the very least insisted that hearings be held to explore the important policy matters surrounding these two appointments. I think that is irrelevant. The fact is, the names were not on the Nov. 19 list. If the names had been on that list, that would have been totally different. Maybe some would have objected to them so they would not have been brought forward. The point is, appointments were made, and they violated the statements and the intent of the letter that we received from the White House vowing to honor their commitment.”