Committee Republicans Just Changed the Rules and Have Approved Two Controversial Trump Cabinet Nominees

Both Nominees Are Accused of Lying to Committee, Have Shady and Controversial Financial Dealings

Just one day after Democrats boycotted hearings on two of President Donald Trump’s top cabinet nominees to block a vote to advance them to the full Senate, Republicans Wednesday morning decided to just change the rules. CNN described Republicans’ actions as “an extraordinary step.”

Steve Mnunchin and Tom Price, Trump’s nominees to head the Treasury Dept. and Health and Human Services Dept., have been accused by Democrats and reports in the media of lying to the committees to which they delivered sworn testimony.

In response, Democrats made the only move they could – deny Republicans a quorum to move both candidates to the full Senate for a vote. Now, both committees have changed their rules, and voted without Democrats present, to force through the confirmation recommendations of the nominees.

Tom Price, a powerful Republican Congressman, and Steve Mnuchin, a powerful banker, have both now “passed” their committee confirmation hearings, by a voice vote only with no Democrats present. The full Senate will vote to confirm them. Democrats do not have enough votes to block their nominations.

As NCRM reported Tuesday, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Trump’s Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin “was untruthful with the Senate during the confirmation process.” And The Intercept, also on Monday, reported Mnuchin “is lying” and “doubled down on his lie to the Senate Finance Committee, again claiming in amended answers for the record that OneWest Bank never robo-signed foreclosure documents, despite copious evidence that they did.” 

And Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Rhode Island, said Congressman Price “outright lied to our committee,” according to CNN.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday, in a surprising development, reported that “Rep. Tom Price got a privileged offer to buy a biomedical stock at a discount.” Calling the news “truly alarming,” Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said Price “misled the congress and he misled the American people.”