Amidst worries that the Republican Party is attempting to push through President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointees without the proper vetting, incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is using the GOP’s words against them. Literally.
I’ll Trade You A Harry For A Mitch
On February 12, 2009, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sent a letter to then-Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev.), indicating the Republicans’ desire to see all of President Obama’s cabinet picks thoroughly vetted before they received Senate confirmation.
And there was nothing wrong with McConnell’s request. Cabinet appointees SHOULD be thoroughly vetted.
Of course, that was then, this is now.
Several days ago, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) expressed their worry that several of the appointees coming up for confirmation have not been properly vetted. Indeed, some have even neglected to begin the process. As New York magazine wrote on January 7:
“At present, Republican lawmakers expect to hold hearings on at least seven of Trump’s cabinet picks within the next several days, which [OGE Director] Shaub says ‘has created undue pressure’ for the watchdog agency to rush through the vetting process, and thus leaves some nominees ‘with potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues shortly before their scheduled hearings.'”
This, of course, has not stopped Republican lawmakers from trying to rush through the process.
Senator Chuck Schumer decided to make a few very minor adjustments to that letter mentioned above and send it to Senator McConnell. He posted his changes on Twitter:
Our requests are eminently reasonable, shared by leaders of both parties. I'll return this letter to @SenateMajLdr with the same requests. pic.twitter.com/IMT7ZtJFjV
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 9, 2017
Now, we can call this hilarious trolling, I suppose, but Schumer makes a great point. They simply want what the Republicans (rightfully) requested eight years ago.
Of course, the Democrats in Congress have very little leverage in this. Several years ago, they changed Senate rules to state that a filibuster cannot be used in cases of executive nominees, so Trump’s picks need only a simple majority to be confirmed.
However, Schumer’s point is well-made, and, hopefully, the Republicans in Congress can look past partisan politics in this case and make sure that we know everything possible about the folks poised to fill Trump’s cabinet.
Featured Images by DonkeyHotey via Flickr/CC BY 2.0 and CC BY-SA 2.0
