President Obama’s pick to head the Patent Office has Congress’s support. She just doesn’t have its approval.

Everything was moving along swimmingly for Michelle Lee as she sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing to become director of the US Patent and Trademark Office. Until Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) made plain that there isn't enough time for the nomination to be confirmed before Congress adjourns. The good news for Lee and US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator nominee Danny Marti is that no one on the Senate Judiciary Committee objected to their nominations on substance.