Republicans are hoping to deter President Obama from making any unconfirmed appointments to controversial boards while Congress is on vacation, refusing to officially adjourn for the year in hopes of preventing any behind-the-scenes action. 

Senate Republicans Monday blocked Mari Carmen Aponte, President Obama's choice to be ambassador to El Salvador, stating there were unresolved questions about whether Cuban intelligence officials tried to recruit her as a spy in the 1990s.

Senate Republicans on Monday blocked President Obama's choice to be ambassador to El Salvador after raising questions about whether her former boyfriend was a spy for Cuba. Republicans also were concerned that Mari Carmen Aponte wrote a commentary about gay pride that offended some citizens in the conservative Catholic country.

The Senate on Thursday failed to muster the 60 votes needed to confirm President Obama's pick to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has become the symbol of the administration's efforts to rein in Wall Street excess.

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked President Obama's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, partly as payback for the Democrats' past opposition to Republican nominees.