chuck hagel's nomination was pending in the senate for a record 34 days, more than three times the previous average of a secretary of defense. remember, our country was at war. republicans have blocked executive nominees like secretary hagel not because they object to their qualifications but simply because they seek to undermine the very government in which they were elected to serve. take the nomination of richard cartwright to lead the consumer financial protection bureau. there was no doubt about his ability to do the job. but to consumer financial protection bureau, the brainchild of elizabeth warren, went for more than two years without a leader because republicans refused to accept the law of the land, because they wanted to rollback a law that protects consumers from the greed of wall street. so i say to my republican colleagues, you don't have to like the laws of the land, but you do have to respect those laws and acknowledge them and abide by them. obstruction continued unabated for seven more months until democrats threatened to change senate rules to allow for votes on executive