Q&A on the News

Q: Why have there been just 99 votes out of 100 senators for some U.S. Cabinet members, like Ben Carson and Rick Perry? I know we have two independent senators who normally vote with Democrats. I know Jeff Sessions voted “here” because he couldn’t vote for himself. Is there some senator that is not voting? —Valerie Weston, Conyers

A: Of the 15 Cabinet nominations, 13 have been confirmed as of March 7.

Of those, 10 garnered 99 votes. Here’s the breakdown, according to media reports and senate.gov.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions voted “present” for his nomination Feb. 8. He did not vote on the Inauguration Day confirmations of Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., missed four confirmation votes between Feb. 27 and March 2 as he recovered in Atlanta from back surgery.

The votes Isakson missed were to confirm Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted present Jan. 31 when his wife, Elaine Chao, was confirmed as transportation secretary.

While she already expressed her opposition, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., did not vote on Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s confirmation Feb. 10, because she was in Missouri for her husband’s heart surgery.

Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., did not vote on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s confirmation Feb. 1.