As Trump blames Democrats for Cabinet delays, GOP senators look to White House for paperwork
While President Trump continues to attack Democrats for delays in his Cabinet confirmations, Republicans in the Senate point to the White House as the source of the problem.
“It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet,” tweeted Trump Friday morning, picking up a theme he has hit several times before.
“So, if the Democrats who have – all you have to do is look at where they are right now,” said Trump in a February press conference. “The only thing they can do is delay because they screwed things up royally, believe me. Let me list to you some of the things that we’ve done in just a short period of time. I just got here. And I got here with no Cabinet. “
After a Senate vote Thursday that confirmed Ben Carson (Housing and Urban Development) and Rick Perry (Energy), the two remaining would-be secretaries awaiting confirmation are Sonny Perdue (Agriculture) and Alexander Acosta (Labor). Hearings on their nominations await the filing of paperwork, including ethics and financial disclosure forms.
For Perdue, the former governor of Georgia, the holdup following his Jan. 19 nomination is frustrating leadership in the Senate. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee that would hold Perdue’s hearing, doesn’t know what is causing the delay in paperwork.
“I don’t know yet,” Roberts said Wednesday when asked about Perdue’s information. “I wish to hell I did. We need a champion for agriculture, we need him on board.”
“They don’t seem to have a reason as to why his name hasn’t come up,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, another member of the Agriculture Committee, when asked about the holdup from the White House with Perdue.
Acosta was announced as the nominee to run the Department of Labor on Feb. 16, a day after Trump’s original pick, Puzder, withdrew his nomination. Puzder’s hearing was delayed multiple times over missing paperwork. The restaurant CEO eventually withdrew after criticisms regarding his positions on unions, employment of an undocumented housekeeper, stance on immigration and a video of his ex-wife appearing on an “Oprah” episode accusing him of abuse.
A spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. — who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will hold Acosta’s confirmation hearing — told Yahoo News there will be no date set until all the paperwork is received.
“Chairman Alexander will not officially notice a confirmation hearing for Mr. Acosta,” said the office Friday, “until the committee has received his HELP Committee paperwork and Office of Government Ethics agreement.”
Last month in the wake of Puzder’s withdrawal, Politico reported that the Cabinet candidates were upset with the White House due to a lack of support in the process:
“It’s been a month since inauguration. Why are some Cabinet nominees waiting on return calls from the White House?” said a GOP operative with knowledge of the process, who, like other people quoted in this story, requested anonymity to speak freely about the issue.
“We’re reaching a point where nominees like Perdue are concerned. Potential ambassadors and judges are wondering how are you going to handle my confirmation? Very few people at that level don’t have skeletons in their closet, so you [need to] get confirmations done lickety-split.”
Thursday evening in what could be seen as a defense of the Senate’s role in the open positions, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted out, “After the votes taken earlier this afternoon, the U.S. Senate has now confirmed all of the available Cabinet nominations.”
The executive branch is also awaiting confirmation hearings for two other Cabinet-level positions, Robert Lighthizer (U.S. trade representative) and Dan Coats (director of National Intelligence). Vincent Viola, the nominee for secretary of the Army, withdrew over issues related to his private business interests.
The Senate Democrats’ official Twitter account responded to Trump’s tweet Friday by posting, “We had to vet them, Mr. President. Your administration clearly did not.”
President Barack Obama’s final Cabinet member wasn’t confirmed until the 99th day of his presidency, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in.
Read more from Yahoo News:
