In the past, a nomination was officially announced before the nominee moved on to the next phase and met with senators to discuss the appointment. Now, as the process has become more fraught, the Obama administration has introduced a still further preliminary stage in which the nominee engages in a sort of do-it-yourself consultation with senators, after which the administration gauges the reaction and decides whether or not to go through with the nomination.
在过去，提名会在被提名人进入下一阶段、由参议院讨论任命事项前正式宣布。如今，随着程序越来越复杂，奥巴马政府引入了一个新的提前步骤，被提名人将参与参议院的自助式（do-it-yourself）咨询，然后由政府评估反应，决定是否进入提名程序。