Republicans Change Confirmation Rules To Overcome Democrat Boycott

zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / Feb 1, 2017 10:23 AM

In an unexpected move on Tuesday, Senate Democrats announced they would boycott the votes of Steven Mnuchin and Tim Price, effectively blocking the confirmation process which requires the presence of at least one Democrat. However, on Wednesday, Senate Republicans found a loophole to push through Trump’s two Cabinet nominees Wednesday, by upending standard committee rules to circumvent a Democratic boycott.

As Bloomberg reports, the Senate Finance Committee – with only Republican members present – advanced Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of Health and Human Services. They did so when the Republicans gathered in the hearing room and unanimously agreed to change the committee’s standing rules, which normally require at least one member of each party to be in attendance for committee work to proceed.

“It’s just another way of roughing up the president’s nominees,” said committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “They have been treated fairly. We have not been treated fairly.”

READ MORE

The post Republicans Change Confirmation Rules To Overcome Democrat Boycott appeared first on Silver For The People.