Akkam’s Razor

This next procedural step the the appointment of various cabinet members, Supreme Court nominees, and other candidates is slated to begin after the president takes office.

I fully expect certain, if not all candidates to take a savaging, especially as this should be the second time around for some, as Bush has rewarded several first termers with promotional appointments to his second term.

We know get to look forward to fillibusters (unless the Republicans “go nuclear”), Senatorial holds, FBI background checks (yes, for all nominees, although I don’t know how Kerik’s missed so much), and the filling out of several investigative forms and documents, such as the White House’s Personal Data Questionaire as well as the Office of Government Ethics’ Standard Form 278.

Other forms that are used in the confirmation (as well as the “vetting”) process are: Tax Checks, Acknowledgement and Consent Forms, Consumer Credit Checks, Security Clearance Checks, Financial Disclousure Forms, and Ethics Statements. Candidates should expect the questioning to go as far back as possible, be able to recall all previous employers, neighbors, classmates, acquaintences, and business dealings.

In order to facilitate the daunting process of filling these forms out, many candidates find outside legal help to navigate the forms and the responses. Before forms turn up “missing”, it’s important to not that the Government now has a software package, NFO (for Nomination Forms Online); I would fully expect these documents to be available for citizen scruiting under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Also, I would expect Senators with axes to grind over specific issues (and not necessarily from the opposition party) to further grill some candidates who are either getting promotions or are rumored to, such as Condoleeza Rice, Andy Card, and Justice Antonin Scalia.

Resources
FAQ from Slate
GovEx: The Last Word