The Republican-controlled Senate on Dec. 19 blocked two of President Donald Trump’s nominees. Trump had nominated Chase Johnson for the position of inspector general for the Federal Communications Commission and Eric Soskin for the same position at the Department of Transportation. The Senate voted 39–48 for each nominee. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and 12 Republican senators missed the votes. The GOP holds a 53–47 majority in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joined Democrats in voting no, a move that lets him bring the nominations to a vote again in the future. The Republican senators who missed the vote were Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Jodi Ernst of Iowa, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, Rand Paul of Kentucky, David Perdue of Georgia, Rob Portman of Ohio, James Risch of …