Democrats Stall Sessions Vote, Boycott Price And Mnuchin

Democrats delayed votes on three of President Trump's controversial Cabinet picks, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Rep. Tom Price and Steven Mnuchin, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Betsy DeVos was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to move to a full Senate vote to serve as secretary of education, and the Senate approved Elaine Chao as secretary of transportation.

Sessions' appointment to head the Justice Department has become particularly salient, given the president's recent executive order on immigration is facing legal challenges and Trump's recent firing of the acting attorney general.

After meeting in the morning, the Senate Judicial Committee reconvened following the vote on Chao. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat and the minority leader, then invoked a procedural rule to delay the vote on Sessions until Wednesday.

Price's potential placement as the head of the Department of Health and Human Service also has high political stakes, as he will be in charge of implementing whatever replacement plan for Obamacare that Republicans pass. Price's confirmation hearings have been troubled, however, by stock purchases he made of a medical devices firm that subsequently benefited from legislation he introduced.

Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote of Price as well as the vote for Mnuchin, the nominee for Treasury secretary; the committee was forced to reschedule the votes.

“I can’t understand why senators, who know we’re going to have these two people go through, can’t support the committee,” said Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator from Utah.

The boycott was sparked by accusations that Mnuchin and Price lied to the committee."We have great concern that Chairman Hatch is asking us to vote today on two nominees who out and out lied to our committee," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio.

Democrats believe Price lied when about the nature of the stock purchases in question, and they believe Mnuchin lied when asked about dubious practices of his former bank, OneWest, which stands accused of being overly aggressive regarding foreclosures.

DeVos, Trump's pick for secretary of Education, has faced substantial criticism for her role as an advocate for school vouchers, potential financial conflicts of interest and an unsteady confirmation hearing. And despite a last-minute plagiarism scandal regarding her answers to a Senate questionnaire, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved her nomination by a vote of 12 to 11.

Chao, generally seen as an uncontroversial pick, easily passed her vote for secretary of transportation in the Senate.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore