Who will stop the Chai Feldblum express? [UPDATED]

As we reported last week, President Trump has renominated Chai Feldblum for a third term as EEOC commissioner. Feldblum is a leading gay rights activist and an architect of President Obama’s LGBT agenda, including the notion that denying certain men (biologically speaking) access to women’s restroom facilities is unlawful discrimination. She says that when religious liberty clashes with sexual liberty, religious liberty should almost always lose.

The Trump administration wants to sneak Feldblum through the Senate before it adjourns, while the nation is focused on tax reform and the race to avoid a partial government shutdown. Social conservatives have caught on and are doing what they can to stop this surprising, almost inexplicable, rush to confirm an ultra-leftist.

Tonight, I’m told (but cannot yet confirm) that the Feldblum nomination has been “hotlined,” along with the nominations of two Republicans Trump has selected for the Commission — Janet Dhillon and Daniel Glade. As I understand it, hotlining occurs when Senators are informed that unanimous consent will be sought to confirm a nominee (or pass a piece of legislation). If no one objects, the nominee is confirmed.

In this case, I’m told, there are Republican Senators who intend not to consent, at least as thing stand now. Again, I can’t confirm this, but one would expect strongly socially conservative Senators to stand in the way of the Feldblum express.

The case for doing this deal is that, with the confirmation of Dhillon and Glade, the Republicans will have a 3-2 majority on the EEOC. Right now, Democrats have a majority. However, Senate Republicans possess the votes to confirm Dhillon and Glade early next year without any support by Senate Dems (as they have confirmed numerous other nominees).

It seems obvious that getting a GOP majority on the EEOC a couple of months early is not worth five more years of Chai Feldblum, plus the likelihood that she will become Chair of the Commission if Democrats win the presidency in 2020.

It’s not even close.

UPDATE: I have confirmed that Feldblum was “hotlined.” My Senate source believes she has drawn a hold, meaning that there isn’t unanimous consent.

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