Appointees spark a power struggle; Confirmation hearings are heating up.(NEWS) From: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) | Date: April 12, 2004| Author: Smith, Dane | COPYRIGHT 2004 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Dane Smith; Staff Writer

Consternation over confirmation has seized the State Capitol this year, and it's just getting started.

The Senate's DFL majority is threatening to reject the confirmation and remove from office as many as four of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's appointees, three of them department heads. It's an exercise of the Senate's "advice and consent" power on a scale unprecedented in recent decades.

"I can't find anything quit...