Bersin Takes Post Without Confirmation

(Tanya Sierra — Union Tribune)

Fed up with waiting, President Barack Obama announced yesterday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs — including Alan Bersin as head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Bersin, now the Southwest “border czar” at the Homeland Security Department, has held several high-profile positions in San Diego over the years. He was nominated for the customs post in September, but his confirmation languished in the Senate.

In wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as recess appointments, Obama accused Republicans of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.

“I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government,” Obama said in a statement. Read more here.