Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) told the Herald on Saturday, May 1 he will withhold approval for one of Gov. Chris Christie’s nominees for chair of the state Parole Board until the prosecutor for Cape May County gets a state renomination hearing.
Van Drew says he can’t move forward with new business while Robert Taylor’s nomination hearing is still unfinished. Van Drew said his decision is nothing personal against Christie’s nominee, U.S. Marshal James Plousis. “I don’t want to stop it, but I want these things to move in order,” Van Drew said.
The senator has the right to block or approve Plousis’ nomination through a system known as senatorial courtesy.
Senatorial courtesy allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a local resident nominated by the Governor for a position that requires Senate confirmation. Senators from the nominee’s home county can invoke senatorial courtesy to block a nomination, temporarily or permanently, without any obligation to justify the basis of their actions.
Van Drew hopes the process of a renomination hearing will move ahead quickly.
