Senate Democrats, apparently, are married to the idea that they will stall out—at least temporarily—the administration by forcing the maximum 30 hours of post-cloture debate on all of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet-level appointments.
After more than a week of around-the-clock debate over confirmations, the president now has eight of his 14 Cabinet members sworn in. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin won approval on a 53-47 vote Monday evening with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) once again breaking ranks with his party over the confirmation.
The former hedge fund CEO, banker and Hollywood producer was labeled “The Foreclosure King” by liberal advocacy groups that have been egging on the Democrats’ slow-walking on confirmations. The assault on his character failed, just as it did with Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price last week.
Republicans had a different story to tell about the nominee.
“Mr. Mnuchin has 30 years of experience working in a variety of capacities in the financial sector,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said. “He has experience managing large and complicated private-sector enterprises and in negotiating difficult compromises and making tough decisions—and being accountable for those decisions. Mr. Mnuchin is clearly qualified to serve as secretary of the United States Treasury.”
Immediately, Trump directed Mnuchin to confer with other top regulators and report back on potential financial regulatory reforms within four months. The treasury secretary is also expected to play a major role in pushing corporate and individual tax reform measures through Congress.
In a surprising turn, however, Democrats allowed an immediate vote on the president’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin, who will be the first non-veteran to lead the department. Shulkin, a Democrat, was the deputy VA secretary in charge of health care in the final months of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Shulkin’s nomination was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate.
The slow-walk immediately resumed, however, as senators took up the nomination of Small Business Administration administrator nominee Linda McMahon. A vote on her confirmation is expected sometime early Wednesday morning. {eoa}
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