Senate Republicans are angry about delays caused by Senate Democrats on votes on Trump nominees. “I think this is a completely unprecedented level of obstruction,” said Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Republican from Pennsylvania.
On what planet has Pat Toomey been? Does he recall the name Merrick Garland? I advise Republicans to stop the self-righteous indignation.
At least Democrats have good reason for their delays:
1. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have stalled the confirmation of Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s picks for Treasury secretary, because Mnuchin repeatedly lied about OneWest Bank, which he ran from 2009 to 2015, and its history of robo-signing. On two occasions in written responses, Mnuchin claimed that OneWest never engaged in robo-signing, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. Robo-signing is a tactic whereby low-level employees perjure themselves by signing foreclosure documents claiming to verify loan information, without ever reviewing the facts. An employee of OneWest admitted to robo-signing in a 2009 deposition, and the Columbus Dispatch found dozens of robo-signed OneWest documents in Ohio public records.
2. Democrats are also stalling the nomination of Tom Price, Trump’s HHS nominee, who also lied to the committee. Price received a sweetheart deal from Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biomedical company, to purchase discounted stock shares in a private placement. Price told the Senate Finance Committee that the deal was open to all investors in the company, but the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the deal was only available by invitation to fewer than 20 people in the U.S.
3. Democrats are also trying to block a vote on Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. Given Trump’s insulting firing of the acting attorney general last night – saying she “betrayed” the Justice Department – it’s appropriate to question Sessions about whether he thinks she betrayed the Department, and whether he’d stand up to the Trump.
Kudos to Democrats for fighting back.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment