Less than two weeks into the Trump administration, Senate Democrats have thrown down the gauntlet.
As protests rage over President Trump's controversial executive order on immigration, members of the minority party announced Tuesday they would boycott confirmation hearings for two of Trump's key cabinet nominees, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Steve Mnuchin for Secretary of the Treasury.
By not attending the hearings, Democrats are denying the committee a quorum and thus blocking it from advancing the nominations to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
Democrats, who have already raised concerns about Price's active trading of stocks in health care companies that may have benefited from actions he took in Congress, seized on a Monday report in the Wall Street Journal that revealed the Georgia congressman was part of a small group of investors who had been offered discounted stock by a biotech firm.
The orthopedic surgeon has had personal experience with providing home health care.
The report contradicted Price's previous claim to the Senate Health Committee that all of the initial investors purchased stocks at the lower price.
The Journal reports Price was one of 20 investors who were invited to invest in Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian firm whose largest shareholder, Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., extended the offer to Price, who bought between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock at a 12 percent discount.
Democrats say they are halting Mnuchin's confirmation over the former hedge fund manager's failure to disclose nearly $100 million of investments as well as what they say were abusive practices he oversaw as CEO of OneWest, a residential lender. They have highlighted aggressive foreclosures of homes, highlighting the case of a 90-year-old woman whose home was foreclosed on because of an underpayment of 27 cents.
By not attending the hearings, Democrats are denying the committee a quorum and thus blocking it from advancing the nominations to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. (Photo: iStock)
