This is something I’ve always meant to research but haven’t, and with Ted’s death was wondering again. I haven’t read much of the history of the JFK Administration, but I can just imagine what would happen if Clinton or Obama had attempted to have their wife confirmed in any Cabinet position or if Obama attempted to have his sister made Sec. of Education even though both wives are respected lawyers and said sister has a background in education.
How on earth did JFK swing it? Even without 24/7 news and all the pundits on radio there had to have been an outcry. Did he have to make many deals?
I do recall reading that when JFK died and the members of his cabinet turned in their resignations to LBJ (basically a courtesy), RFK was the exception because he had no doubt LBJ would accept it in a heartbeat.
Bobby was well known in his own right in 1960, having been a part of Senate Investigating Committees through the 1950s, including the one that investigated racketeering in the Teamsters Union. At the same time, the issue of the President nominating his brother to the Cabinet was controversial. Wikipedia’s article is pretty close to what I remember learning.
Jim Eastland, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, liked RFK, so that helped. Plus, Vice President Johnson had a good relationship with the southern Democrats who made up most of the committee, and he charmed them. As he said to Bobby Baker, who was at that point his aide:
So, by the time he was up before the Judiciary Committee, the only real opposition he had was Roman Hruska, and the Committee voted him through unanimously. When it came to the whole Senate vote, only Gordon Allott from Colorado voted against him.
Remember, too, that nominees tended to get less scrutiny in those days, especially when both the President and the Senate were of the same party, as was the case in 1961.
In addition, there was a feeling that the President had the right to choose his own cabinet; the Senate would generally confirm unless there was some major scandal or someone with a big ax to grind.
In 1967, Congress passed a law prohibiting a president from putting relatives in the cabinet, so it can’t be done now.
Kennedy won over the public with one of the best quips ever.
Of appointing Bobby Attorney General, he said, “I can’t see that it’s wrong to give him a little legal experience before he goes out to practice law.”