WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) released the following statement today on the President’s recess appointment of Winslow Sargeant to Chief Counsel of Advocacy for the Small Business Administration:

“I am outraged that President Obama today has once again short-circuited the Senate confirmation process by recess appointing Dr. Sargeant for the position of Chief Counsel at the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.  This is a key position within the Federal government and is the one person who is charged with fighting for small business interests during the regulatory process.  Regrettably, Dr. Sargeant has no experience in the regulatory process and did not mention reducing the small business regulatory burden – the core function of the position for which he has been nominated – during testimony before the committee.  Now that he has been recess appointed without Senate confirmation, Dr. Sargeant will be the first Chief Counsel who is not an attorney by training – which is unprecedented, runs counter to well-established precedent, and will render Dr. Sargeant unable to satisfy all the statutory requirements of the position.  For those reasons, I opposed Dr. Sargeant's nomination and the President's decision to recess appoint him today.”