Posted on 01/01/2017 7:39:12 PM PST by usafa92
Democratic senators plan to aggressively target eight of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees in the coming weeks and are pushing to stretch their confirmation votes into March - an unprecedented break with Senate tradition.
Such delays would upend Republican hopes of quickly holding hearings and confirming most of Trump's top picks on Inauguration Day. But Democrats, hamstrung by their minority status, are determined to slow-walk Trump's picks unless they start disclosing reams of personal financial data they've withheld so far, according to senior aides.
Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., has told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that Democrats will hone in especially on Rex Tillerson, Trump's choice for secretary of state; Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trump's choice for attorney general; Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Betsy DeVos, set to serve as education secretary.
There's also Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and oversee changes to Obamacare, who is set to be attacked by Democrats for his support for privatizing Medicare. Andrew Puzder, a restaurant executive set to serve as labor secretary, will face scrutiny for past comments on the minimum wage, among other policies. Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner set to serve as treasury secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump's pick to lead the EPA, will also be the focus of Democratic attacks, aides said.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The GOP holds a slim 52 to 48 vote majority in the Senate. McCain and Graham are already making noises suggesting they will make trouble. If they can get one more Republican senator to join them in voting against Trump on certain votes, they with Schumer, will control the Senate.
McCain was just reelected for a 6 year term and will be 86 in 2022 when or if he faces the voters again. He loves power and media attention which he will have if if can assemble a gang of 3 Republican Senators to oppose Trump on principle. Graham doesn’t face the voters until 2020. He has a history of joining McCain.
Who would be the third Republican to join McCain and Graham in siding with Schumer and the Dems on key votes? Murkowski and Collins frequently break with conservatives and vote with the Dems, Rubio won’t face reelection to the Semate until 2022 and might have already made a deal with the GOPe forces to run with their support against Trump in the 2020 presidential primaries. Joining McCain and Graham in voting with the Dems to block Trump appointees and legislation will secure him favorable press and money from moderate GOP donors.
The Tillerson nomination is the most likely to be blocked. We are going to hear another month of anti Russia, anti Putin rhetoric from Obama, Dem politicians and the press. Tillerson is being positioned by the press as Putin’s best friend and highly vulnerable to Russian influence. I can easily see 5-6 GOP senators voting with the Dems to block Tillerson due to concerns about Russia. Beating Tillerson will show Trump is vulnerable.
Early in his administration Trump will push for two major votes. They are ending Obamacare and immigration policy (I.e. the wall). McCain, Graham and Rubio are against the wall and can block it in the Senate no matter what McConnell does. Add Flake, Collins, Murkowski, and a few more “moderate” Republican senators and the wall goes down to defeat in a glorious display of “bipartisanship” the press and Democrats will laud. If the same thing happens on Obamacare repeal, Trump is effectively neutered and McCain becomes the power player in Congress.
To beat McCain Trump will have to resort to the Lyndon Johnson playbook. He will need to use the FBI, CIA, IRS, and independent private investigator files containing dirt on every GOP senator who might break ranks. He will need some juicy information on McCain or Graham to keep them from running off the reservation.
Today McCain is Trump’s most dangerous enemy in Washington. Trump has to get him on a leash immediately or his whole agenda will be blocked in the Senate and Trump will go down to defeat in 2020 for being ineffective.
Watch what McCain and Graham say and do during the next four weeks,
I have seen huge changes from one session to the next in the rules of the Senate and in the amount of time made available for debate and for confirmation hearings. I'd like to see the Senate streamline the procedure for the nest three weeks.
Trump might have named her, but McConnell must wait to schedule hearings for her until Trump sends over the written nomination.
10 of those demonRAT cock-a-roaches are up for re-election this cycle in red states. How much of an example do they want to become {in a 140 character tweet from POTUS}?
I agree with your proposed scenario & have been worried about such, blocking Trump’s agenda. His trashing of McCain on the campaign trail may, in fact, come back to bite him :(
Chao is no conservative. In the Reagan years, the White House sent me over to interview with her. She was head of NOAA or some dept. in Commerce. I tallked about privatization, downsizing, etc. She looked at me and said I didn’t understand, that she wanted to increase her budget. I didn’t get or want the job.
She and her turkey headed husband are RINOS and traitors. Maybe she is insurance, I don’t know, but both are the reason we have had full funding of everything the usurper has proposed.
They need to go to hell with the other libtards.
Schadenfreude, endless Schadenfreude...
I bet he has plenty of RINO allies lined up.
Dems endless losing streak cost them (a) the presidency, (b) both
houses of Congress, and, (c) the majority of the state legislatures.
Naturally, Dems desperately seek an explanation for their party’s incessant
failures. So after a long, hard, critical look in the mirror, Dems reluctantly
forced themselves to stop seeking scapegoats and place the blame where it
belongs:
<><>the electoral college,
<><>the Russians,
<><> Facebook, and, of course,
<><> James Comey.
(hat tip Dave Barry)
Me - born and bred in Brooklyn, USA. I totally "get" Trump, always have.
That may be but these nominees’ personal finances are their own business.
They are so mad, they even coined a new Obamacare Motto:
"If you like your plan....too frickin' bad......you get Obamacare or nothing."
60 Senate votes, you can bet that schumer and his minions will be digging up dirt on all those agreeing with Trump and blackmailing them
You post like you have experience over at DU. How special...
As a former elected and appointed public official in Pennsylvania who had to fill out, annually, a "Financial Disclosure Form" listing all sources of income and all debts (including interest rate) I felt the same way...what does my mortgage rate really matter? And why should anyone filing a FOIA request be able to find that out?
Eight? I see a thick smoke-screen at work here. The Dems really object to just one and the other 7 just offer some ‘cover’. My guess is that the objection is primarily to the AG-designate, Jeff Sessions. They fear what he might do with HillarY and the Clinton Foundation.
By being to NYC "many" (what...more than two times; diddums?)times, you know that EVERYONE there is a NATIVE BORN NEW YORKER and a "SOCIALIST AND EXTREME LIBERAL"? LOL
The vast majority of people, whom you now see/hear about, in Manhattan, are stupid tourists, garbage from other states and nation, and illegal aliens from all over the world. This wasn't so, when Trump and I was born in and raised in NYC. Neither was it true into our early adulthoods.
Your reading comprehension and general understanding of simple English is appalling! You need much remedial help...get some!
Nobody, except YOU,has EVER imagined that Trump is going to get his cabinet nominees confirmed prior to his even finishing that list AND taking the presidential oath of office! *snicker*
Keep on posting and exposing just HOW unmitigatedly uneducated, stupid, and woefully idiotic YOU are! And lest we all forget, or some NOT having read thew post of yours which started my replying to you, it was YOU, who claimed that because you live "near" D.C., that YOU and you ALONE, know 1) how the Congress works 2) what the rules of both Houses are ( which you don't! ) 3) exactly what the Dems and GOPEers shall do re the nominees 4) that everyone else is wrong about everything. *snicker*
Too bad, snookums, that you don't "KNOW" when to stop digging, nor which posters here to NOT take on! ;^)
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