Hewes Nomination Moves CPSC towards Operating Commission

The October 2 nomination of William Hewes III to fill the slot vacated by Douglas Dziak is a step towards CPSC having an operational commission. Not only would his confirmation give the panel a temporary quorum of two people for six months, but a third slot is about to open. The term filled by ex-Commissioner Mary Boyle ends October 27, meaning her prior seat becomes available despite the court fight over the firings of her and the two other Democratic commissioners.

Hewes' potential slot runs to 2031. The White House had not yet posted (bit.ly/4pZxmzm) his nomination as of October 4, but the Senate had reported (bit.ly/48fodfC) that it received it.

According to a Wikipedia page on Hewes (bit.ly/46yT0mk):

• He was mayor of Gulfport, Miss., from 2013 to 2025, leaving last June.
• He was a Mississippi state senator from 1992 to 2012.
• He holds a 1984 BS in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
• He has held advisory roles involving the U.S. Department of Commerce and Department of Interior, and he was a board member of the South Mississippi Planning and Development District.
• His private work has been in insurance (The Hewes Agency) and real estate (Billy Hewes Real Estate). He also is a songwriter and musician with two songs on movie soundtracks to his credit plus appearance on a 2021 album titled "She's Got the Moves" (bit.ly/46NRQlF) with the band Cut Bait.

As for the makeup of the commission, while not occurring for 16 years, CPSC operated with three-person commissions from the early 1980s until the 2008 CPSIA restored funding for five, achieved in 2009. During that time, the norm was having two commissioners from the party that held the White House and one from the other major party (there were none from third parties). Following that norm would mean a Democratic nominee.

However, CPSA Section 4(c) states that "Not more than three of the Commissioners shall be affiliated with the same political party," which could be read to allow a 3-0 Republican panel especially as Section 4(d) lets three members operate indefinitely, not mentioning party affiliation. It sets the three-member quorum at two.

The idea of a 3-0 Republican panel is supported by the unresolved cases of Alexander Hoehn-Saric and Richard Trumka. The commissioner slots they occupied run to 2027 and 2028 respectively. The slim chance of their returns thus would mean a 3-2 panel. A new Democratic nominee for Boyle's slot would risk that party having the majority.

Another strategy would be to leave the commission at 2-0 in hopes of resolution before the temporary quorum ended and then nominating accordingly. But three Republicans already in place would preclude a temporary 2-2 tie if Hoehn-Saric and Trumka were able to return.

Oral arguments before the U.S. 4th circuit are tentatively set for December 9-12 in the appeal of the three Democrats' reinstatements. However, if they prevail, their potential returns still would be blocked until subsequent Supreme Court review under a stay issued by the high court. Supreme Court resolution might occur before consideration of their case under parallel cases involving similar matters at similar agencies.

Hewes' confirmation could be facilitated by a September change to Senate rules that allowed for approving nominations in large groups rather than one-by-one.