Booker wants financial records before Senate considers Trump nominees

Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus, Trump’s choice as the next White House chief of staff, on Sunday dismissed concerns about senators having to pass judgment on nominees without complete background information.

“I was in [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer’s situation eight years ago … what did we do?” Shaub noted that there were some unresolved ethics issues involving some of Trump’s nominees.

“It’s enormously concerning that these nominees haven’t submitted their financial disclosures”, said Brendan Fischer, a lawyer at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. “And none of our committees have been notified that any nominee’s Federal Bureau of Investigation background check has been fully completed”.

The letter was immediately cited by Democrats to push the message that Trump and Republicans are trying to rush through some of the president-elect’s Cabinet confirmations. Hensarling says the Trump administration wants to address Dodd-Frank this year, but that rewrite has taken a back seat to more immediate priorities like tax reform and a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

German’s Fresenius Medical Care and USA rival DaVita Inc said they had both received subpoenas from federal prosecutors investigating their ties with a charity that helps patients pay for kidney dialysis. “And I am hopeful and optimistic that that will be the case this time as well”.

Later in the week, the chamber will complete votes on all remaining budget amendments in the marathon “vote-a-rama”.

As the Lord of Obstruction, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has long believed he alone gets to decide who does the obstructing and when. In the meantime, the flurry of hearings begins Tuesday. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), whom Trump called “a high-quality man”. In a questionnaire he prepared for the hearings, Sessions already tried to neutralize criticism of his civil rights record, and he and other nominees have reportedly spent more than 70 hours preparing with mock hearings.

The others who have completed ethics agreements include, Elaine Chao, Scott Pruitt, and Rex Tillerson, who hope to become the next secretary of Transportation, the EPA administrator, and the secretary of State, respectively. The committee chairman schedules a hearing, during which each member of the panel may ask questions or make points.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, tapped by Trump to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, will testify before the Intelligence Committee.

“He’s going to do great”, Trump said.

Traditionally, incoming presidents are granted latitude to build their own cabinets. That’s not the standard.

According to a Senate aide, many of Trump nominees are still lacking paperwork, including Homeland Security Secretary nominee retired General John Kelly, Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, and Housing and Urban Development choice Dr. McConnell’s office declined to confirm the list. The American people will support the president’s nominees, and if the Senate balks on Trump nominations, there are workarounds to give our new president the cabinet he wants.

Separately, Schumer, Wyden, and Sen. The Office of Government Ethics, along with an ethics official from the relevant agency, reviews financial disclosures.

In his Monday remarks, Schumer said Democrats were not acting out of “pique or anger” but in the interest of ensuring a “thorough and thoughtful vetting process”.

And Democrats and Republicans have voiced concerns about Mr. Tillerson’s close business and personal ties to Russian Federation as the head of ExxonMobil, and how that would affect his decisions as secretary of State.