In Escalation Of Tensions, Senate Panel Changes Rules To Approve Price Without Dems
The Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee were boycotting Rep. Tom Price, the HHS nominee, because they wanted more information on his stocks.
Reuters:
Senate Panel Backs Price As Health Secretary, Mnuchin For Treasury
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to confirm Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services and banker Steven Mnuchin to be treasury secretary, sending the nominations to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Democrats tried to block the committee vote for a second day by boycotting the meeting, but Republicans changed the rules that had required Democrats to be present for quorum. (2/1)
Politico:
Senate Panel Jams Through Price, Mnuchin Nominations
Senate Finance Committee Republicans Wednesday morning used a procedural maneuver to jam through the nominations of Rep. Tom Price for HHS secretary and Steven Mnuchin for Treasury secretary without any Democrats present to object. The Republicans voted to temporarily suspend committee rules requiring at least one Democrat present to conduct business. The move came after Finance Committee Democrats boycotted scheduled votes on both nominations Tuesday, citing concerns over whether Price and Mnuchin made misleading statements during their testimony. (Cancryn, 2/1)