Lawmakers did not raise the issue of abortion rights on Thursday during HHS secretary nominee Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' (D) appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, nor did they address the governor's recent correction of tax errors, the Washington Post reports (Connolly, Washington Post, 4/3). Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking Republican on the committee, had said on Wednesday that Sebelius should expect questions on her support for abortion rights, but the senator never addressed the issue in Thursday's hearing (Young, The Hill, 4/2). The New York Times reports that Sebelius' stance on the issue "appear[s] to be generally similar" to that of President Obama, who supports abortion rights.

According to the Times, it initially appeared that Sebelius would be confirmed on Thursday, but some Republican senators objected to an immediate vote, saying that they want more time to review her answers to written questions submitted before the Finance Committee hearing (Pear, New York Times, 4/3). The vote is now expected to take place sometime after the upcoming two-week Congressional recess (Reichard, CQ Today, 4/2)…