Hearings Will Unmask ‘Swamp Creatures’ in Trump’s Cabinet, Democrats Say

[Mileage Psycho]

Good read.

Quote

 

Hearings Will Unmask ‘Swamp Creatures’ in Trump’s Cabinet, Democrats Say

The New York Times  By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats concede they have little leverage to stop Donald J. Trump’s cabinet nominees. But that will not discourage them from trying to make life as uncomfortable as possible for many of his choices, with the hope of forcing their Republican colleagues and Mr. Trump to squirm along the way.

With nominees like Representative Tom Price, a proponent of fundamental changes to Medicare, to be health secretary, and Steven Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs trader turned hedge fund manager, as Treasury secretary, Democrats hope to use the confirmation hearings to highlight the wide river of incongruities between Mr. Trump’s campaign promises and much of the team he is assembling. The goal: to fuel a narrative that the incoming president, and the Republicans who support him, cannot be trusted.

“President-elect Trump promised that he was going to clean up the swamp,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming Democratic leader, “and a whole lot of his nominees have had their career in the swamp.”

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One by one, Mr. Schumer said, Democrats will use the confirmation process to highlight positions held by nominees that are either inconsistent with Mr. Trump’s campaign promises or raise the sorts of ethical questions that Democrats tried in vain to hang around Mr. Trump’s neck during the campaign, like refusing to release his tax returns. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, who serves on committees that are likely have contentious hearings, can be counted on to work over many nominees.

“We should know what direction this administration is headed in,” Mr. Schumer said. “They didn’t win the election by saying they were going to hire people who want to cut Social Security and Medicare. I will also be looking for any ethical transgressions.”

For starters, Democrats announced this past week that they would push for a rule requiring all cabinet-level nominees to provide Congress with their tax returns, a move made to suggest that some of Mr. Trump’s selections may share conflict-of-interest and tax issues with the incoming president.

Democrats have themselves to blame for their weakened position in challenging a nominee. In 2013, the Senate voted largely along party lines to remove the 60-vote threshold on cabinet-level and non-Supreme Court judicial nominees. Mr. Trump’s nominees will now need the support of only 51 senators to be confirmed; Republicans are expected to hold 52 seats next year.

“At the end of the day, we were the ones who changed it to 51,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, who voted for the measure. “I think it’s important to remember how righteous we were.”

It is highly unusual for Congress, even in an era of divided government, to outright filibuster cabinet nominees. Republicans have shown broad support for Mr. Trump’s choices so far, even those lawmakers who have been otherwise critical of him.

In one telling move, Senator Susan Collins gave a fast nod to Mr. Trump’s choice of attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who came under immediate fire by Democrats for his decades-old positions on civil rights issues and his hard-line immigration stance that made him an early Trump ally.

In short, Republicans say, bring it on. “Responsible Democrats responded to the election by saying they heard the message of the American people and pledged to work with the incoming administration and Republicans in Congress to move America forward,” said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. She added, “We hope responsible Democrats won’t be bullied by the radical left to turn the confirmation process into some political side show.”

But Democratic lawmakers can make the process afflictive. Mr. Price is expected to receive a particularly hot grilling. As a congressman from Georgia, Mr. Price has been the chief architect of a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and has long desired to transform Medicare into a voucherlike program for future participants.

Mr. Sessions is likely to undergo tough questioning about accusations of racially insensitive comments from the 1980s that doomed his nomination to be a federal judge and his tentative embrace of Mr. Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim immigration. That effort seems most likely to backfire because Mr. Sessions has served in the Senate for more than a decade and has a complex record on civil rights back home in Alabama, and his Republican colleagues will likely be quick to defend him.

“Our friend,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, referring to Mr. Sessions, “is undoubtedly qualified and prepared for this role as attorney general because of the long career he spent protecting and defending our Constitution and the rule of law.”

Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire Mr. Trump chose to lead the Department of Education, will also be questioned by Democrats for her unwavering support of charter schools, many of which have fared poorly in her state, and tax issues concerning her summer home.

“There are a lot of pointed questions I plan to ask,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the Medicare program and already requires tax returns from nominees. “These nomination hearings are extremely important in that they are going to provide a key opportunity to lay out the concerns we have.”

Democrats hope that moderate Republicans, especially those up for re-election in two years, will face an uncomfortable vote on someone like Mr. Price, given the popularity of the Medicare program. “Are Republicans going to want to vote for a guy who wants to raise the Medicare eligibility age?” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. “I don’t think it’s a done deal.” (It probably is a done deal.)

But most Democrats seem more interested in pointing out that Mr. Trump’s nominees largely stand out of step with his campaign promises to “drain the swamp” of lobbyists, former bankers and Washington insiders. Mr. Mnuchin is a 17-year veteran of Goldman Sachs, and the billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, the choice for commerce secretary, signed a letter in support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which Mr. Trump has ridiculed as disastrous.

Democrats plan to use the nomination process to underscore the dichotomy. “He’s filling it with bigger swamp creatures,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, who is pressing for nominees to be required to disclose tax returns.

And for whatever bumps Mr. Price or Mr. Sessions might face, other nominees will probably breeze through confirmation. Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina, whom Mr. Trump has chosen to be his ambassador to the United Nations, and Elaine L. Chao, a former labor secretary whom he has nominated for secretary of transportation, have encountered little opposition.

Mr. McConnell is especially excited for Ms. Chao, his wife. “I think it was an outstanding choice,” he said.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hearings-will-unmask-‘swamp-creatures’-in-trump’s-cabinet-democrats-say/ar-AAl6jY7

 

 

Drain the swamp 

 

[snoughnut]

Good read? Looks like another liberal New York Times hit piece.......surprised that rag is still in business.

[bussman]

I stopped at "democrats say". 

[snoughnut]

Just now, bussman said:

I stopped at "democrats say". 

You did better than me, I stopped at New York Times

[Mileage Psycho]

25 minutes ago, bussman said:

I stopped at "democrats say". 

Don't be afraid to read, the fear of being educated is nothing to be proud of, take the blinders off  

Some excerpts:

Quote

 

“We should know what direction this administration is headed in,” Mr. Schumer said. “They didn’t win the election by saying they were going to hire people who want to cut Social Security and Medicare. I will also be looking for any ethical transgressions.”

For starters, Democrats announced this past week that they would push for a rule requiring all cabinet-level nominees to provide Congress with their tax returns, a move made to suggest that some of Mr. Trump’s selections may share conflict-of-interest and tax issues with the incoming president.

Democrats have themselves to blame for their weakened position in challenging a nominee. In 2013, the Senate voted largely along party lines to remove the 60-vote threshold on cabinet-level and non-Supreme Court judicial nominees. Mr. Trump’s nominees will now need the support of only 51 senators to be confirmed; Republicans are expected to hold 52 seats next year.

“At the end of the day, we were the ones who changed it to 51,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, who voted for the measure. “I think it’s important to remember how righteous we were.”

 

 

[snoughnut]

2 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Don't be afraid to read, the fear of being educated is nothing to be proud of, take the blinders off  

Some excerpts:

 

GMAFB, reading a liberal rag like the NYT will result in a dumbing down.

[bussman]

3 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Don't be afraid to read, the fear of being educated is nothing to be proud of, take the blinders off  

Some excerpts:

 

No fear at all.  

 

But if you want to talk about blinders I can assign you a position like you tried to assign me one.......

But I'm proud I've educated myself enough to know when not to waste my time....in more than one way. 

[Carlos Danger]

Schumer and Warren threatening? Like two toddlers challenging Mike Tyson to 12 rounds. 

[Ez ryder]

I did more shit.

best art was first 3 linesbutt hurt  overload

 Senate Democrats concede they have little leverage to stop Donald J. Trump’s cabinet nominees. But that will not discourage them from trying to make life as uncomfortable as possible for many of his choices, with the hope of forcing their Republican colleagues and Mr. Trump to squirm along the way.

 

then the butt hurt het highlighted more fun times

 

 Democrats have themselves to blame for their weakened position in challenging a nominee. In 2013, the Senate voted largely along party lines to remove the 60-vote threshold on cabinet-level and non-Supreme Court judicial nominees. Mr. Trump’s nominees will now need the support of only 51 senators to be confirmed; Republicans are expected to hold 52 seats next year.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Ez ryder

[Edmo]

25 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

Schumer and Warren threatening? Like two toddlers challenging Mike Tyson to 12 rounds. 

People in the swamp actually talking about draining the swamp. Irony.

[ICEMAN!]

1 hour ago, Edmo said:

People in the swamp actually talking about draining the swamp. Irony.

Irony is believing the wealthiest cabinet in American history will be the champion of the downtrodden.

[Snake]

7 minutes ago, ICEMAN! said:

Irony is believing the wealthiest cabinet in American history will be the champion of the downtrodden.

I'll take people who have made it in the real world as opposed to academics who's life experiences has lead to the pussified, snowflake mentality.

[Zambroski]

2 hours ago, bussman said:

I stopped at "democrats say". 

Yep.

[Ez ryder]

14 minutes ago, ICEMAN! said:

Irony is believing the wealthiest cabinet in American history will be the champion of the downtrodden.

so it would be better to hold job  interviews at the homeless shelter than hire some of the most accomplished people in there fields ?  

[Zambroski]

4 minutes ago, Ez ryder said:

so it would be better to hold job  interviews at the homeless shelter than hire some of the most accomplished people in there fields ?  

No, it's better to have democrats that are truly looking out for the "downtrodden".  Ironically, the same Dems that made millions and millions in their "plea for the working class" in their elected office.

Saw Pelosi on the tube this morning.  

[Mileage Psycho]

2 hours ago, bussman said:

No fear at all.  

 

But if you want to talk about blinders I can assign you a position like you tried to assign me one.......

But I'm proud I've educated myself enough to know when not to waste my time....in more than one way. 

I read everything, Fox News, CNBC, etc., no reason to limit my ability to make reasonable assumptions on what is currently happening.

FTR I am all for draining the swamp, I'm all for getting government workers off a pension plan and into a 401K, I am all for government workers having to work till the SS age for retirement, and it's a must that these things happen to pay for that HUGE corporate and personal tax cut along with the trillion dollars in infrastructure that he promised without driving the debt through the roof, and quite frankly if the debt goes through the roof oh well I'm done worrying about it.

8 minutes ago, Snake said:

I'll take people who have made it in the real world as opposed to academics who's life experiences has lead to the pussified, snowflake mentality.

Hey when you went to the rally were you chanting "lock her up" or "drain the swamp" or both?

 

 

 

 

[Snake]

2 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

I read everything, Fox News, CNBC, etc., no reason to limit my ability to make reasonable assumptions on what is currently happening.

FTR I am all for draining the swamp, I'm all for getting government workers off a pension plan and into a 401K, I am all for government workers having to work till the SS age for retirement, and it's a must that these things happen to pay for that HUGE corporate and personal tax cut along with the trillion dollars in infrastructure that he promised without driving the debt through the roof, and quite frankly if the debt goes through the roof oh well I'm done worrying about it.

Hey when you went to the rally were you chanting "lock her up" or "drain the swamp" or both?

 

 

 

 

As a matter of fact, we hit all the high notes.

[Mileage Psycho]

16 minutes ago, Ez ryder said:

so it would be better to hold job  interviews at the homeless shelter than hire some of the most accomplished people in there fields ?  

 

The article is about the Dems holding Trump to his promise to drain the swamp, I mean this is good thing that we have a watchdog to help make sure the swamp is drained.

[motonoggin]

24 minutes ago, Snake said:

I'll take people who have made it in the real world as opposed to academics who's life experiences has lead to the pussified, snowflake mentality.

You mean like special snowflakes that want safe spaces for flags and racism?

[Zambroski]

2 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

 

The article is about the Dems holding Trump to his promise to drain the swamp, I mean this is good thing that we have a watchdog to help make sure the swamp is drained.

You do know there is no real "swamp" in the capital...right?  Spread the word. 

You boys are grasping at straws and there's just nothing there. Kinda getting sad to watch.  Well, "pathetic" is really a better word.

[Snake]

I hope they do a better job of feet to fire holding than they did the past 8 years.

2 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

You mean like special snowflakes that want safe spaces for flags and racism?

You know my opinion on that, and I think I am done any with any post of yours that has any -ism/ist in it.

Obviously, you are just plain 'real world challenged'.

It's like arguing with...

 

[Mileage Psycho]

1 minute ago, Snake said:

As a matter of fact, we hit all the high notes.

Let's make sure the swamp is drained, he's already passed on going after Clinton and that's smart on his part, but this drain the swamp thing needs to happen.

First and only guy here besides my 10 pointer over fireplace to have a pic sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat on here was me a year ago, where Trump then lost me was with all the stuff that really looked like bullshit to me, I really hope "drain the swamp" wasn't bullshit like Mexico paying for a wall, or lock her up etc.

Before the election I said whoever wins will be my president, and with that I say go Trump go!!! 

 

[Snake]

3 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

You do know there is no real "swamp" in the capital...right?  Spread the word. 

You boys are grasping at straws and there's just nothing there. Kinda getting sad to watch.  Well, "pathetic" is really a better word.

Washington DC was built on a swamp... hence 'drain the swamp'.

[Snake]

1 minute ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Let's make sure the swamp is drained, he's already passed on going after Clinton and that's smart on his part, but this drain the swamp thing needs to happen.

First and only guy here besides my 10 pointer over fireplace to have a pic sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat on here was me a year ago, where Trump then lost me was with all the stuff that really looked like bullshit to me, I really hope "drain the swamp" wasn't bullshit like Mexico paying for a wall, or lock her up etc.

Before the election I said whoever wins will be my president, and with that I say go Trump go!!! 

 

Can you post without a brag?

I mean, that may make all your buds feel giddy, but it comes across as gauche.

[Snake]

“I think that that kind of a headline is exactly what concerns me, which is that I don’t consider it advocacy, but I consider it almost an unrecognized point of view that the Times has, that comes from being in New York, being in you know in a certain circle, and seeing the world a certain way, not being in touch with people who don’t live like them or don’t live in cities and who were the ones who elected Donald Trump for the presidency. They’re just out of touch with that....what I was most surprised by was how many liberal readers who I called who were angry at the New York Times.”