Top U.S. Senate Democrat says Trump's nominees need 'thorough' vetting

[webfact]

Top U.S. Senate Democrat says Trump's nominees need 'thorough' vetting

By Steve Holland

 

FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives for his election night rally at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, decried what he called undue haste to confirm President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for various top posts, saying on Monday they needed more thorough vetting.

 

Hearings start on Tuesday for the Republican president-elect's choices for senior administration posts, beginning with U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, nominated to be attorney general, and retired General John Kelly, Trump's pick for secretary of homeland security.

 

Schumer said Trump's nominees, many of whom have extensive business backgrounds at companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and Goldman Sachs <GS.N>, should be carefully scrutinized to be sure they avoid conflicts of interest.

 

"We're not doing this for sport. Democrats feel very strongly that pushing for a thorough and thoughtful vetting process is the right thing to do," Schumer said in a speech.

 

Republicans, who control the majority in the Senate, are presenting the Democratic objections as political grandstanding, saying they moved quickly eight years ago to confirm Democratic President Barack Obama's Cabinet picks, approving seven the day he began his first term.

 

Schumer said some of Trump's nominees have not completed a review process conducted by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

 

Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday that every nominee with a hearing this week has turned in the required paperwork.

 

"Everybody will be properly vetted as they have been in the past," said U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, speaking in New York after meeting with Trump on Monday. He said he hoped to confirm six or seven national security appointees by the time Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

 

Trump needs to keep the 52 Republicans in the 100-seat Senate on his side to secure the simple majority votes needed for confirmations.

 

One of the more contentious hearings could be over Rex Tillerson, nominated for secretary of state. Trump's stated desire for warmer relations with Russia comes at a deeply sensitive moment, after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Moscow used cyber hacking and other methods to try to tilt the U.S. presidential election in Trump's favour over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

 

Republicans including U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, veterans in foreign policy and security issues, have signalled concerns about Tillerson's ties to Russia during his tenure as the chief executive of Exxon Mobil. Transition officials expressed confidence that Tillerson would win the pair's support.

 

Sessions is also likely to face a thorough grilling, with critics arguing he obstructed civil rights protections in the past.

 

Democrats are likely to question nominees for positions related to national security about Trump's proposal to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and his pledge to temporarily suspend immigration from regions deemed to be exporting terrorism.

 

The Trump team has put the nominees through mock hearings that are standard practice ahead of such events. Questions have included the kind of everyday concerns that periodically upset nominees for high office, such as the price of a gallon of gas. Each mock-up has also included at least one disruptive pretend protester, a transition official said.

 

Transition officials say they believe they could pick up Democratic votes from senators facing 2018 re-election bids in states Trump won on Nov. 8, such as U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

 

Trump voiced optimism about the process on Monday, telling reporters at his office and residence in New York, "The confirmation is going great. I think they'll all pass."

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland, additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Emily Stephenson in Washington and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Howard Goller and Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-01-10

[Silurian]

Way to go Cory Booker!!! Sessions is a terrible choice for Attorney General. 

 

Booker to testify against fellow senator Sessions in unprecedented move

http://us.cnn.com/2017/01/09/politics/cory-booker-jeff-sessions-confirmation-hearing/index.html

 

[Emster23]

How about some "extreme vetting"? These people greater threat to USA than Muslim refugees. Perhaps some water boarding if they are evasive, or water boarding just for practice?

[hawker9000]

And so we see the beginning of the wingnut strategy for logjamming Congress and doing their darndest to make sure nothing ever gets done.  But of course it's only Republicans who're ever responsible for contentiousness and failure to get anything done within those hallowed halls.  Never wingnuts.

 

The new Party of No.   "NeoNons"?

 

 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, Emster23 said:

How about some "extreme vetting"? These people greater threat to USA than Muslim refugees. Perhaps some water boarding if they are evasive, or water boarding just for practice?

Some are pretty old and moldy looking best to air them out as well before turning them lose. I often wonder how many pensions these turkeys receive as they sit on the nest once again to lay another pension egg. 

[Opl]

Trump needs "thorough" vetting first, release his tax returns, check all possible conflicts of interest, then apply all the rules to his cabinet and advisors - when you sweep the stairs, you always start from the top;

[Thakkar]

Tweet from Christa Mrgan:

 

 

Christa Mrgan ? (‪@antichrista‬)

10/1/17, 13:55

 

I couldn't volunteer at my kid's elementary school before completing an F.B.I. background check (with finger-printing!) twitter.com/xeni/status/81…

 

Xeni Jardin (‪@xeni‬)

10/1/17, 08:51

Republicans: Trump Cabinet hearings will begin tomorrow, before any nominees have completed F.B.I. background checks nytimes.com/2017/01/08/us/…

Edited January 10, 2017 by Thakkar
Tried to clean up the formatting. Failed. Sad. Formatting is overrated.

[connda]

Obviously the progressives and neocons are just about wetting themselves as the new administration is getting ready to take office.  Not much powder left in the ammo-box methinks.  Looks as though they are becoming desperate.

[spiritrace]

This only applies to U.S. citizens. Illegal jihadist need not worry about such vetting.

[Andaman Al]

13 minutes ago, connda said:

Obviously the progressives and neocons are just about wetting themselves as the new administration is getting ready to take office.  Not much powder left in the ammo-box methinks.  Looks as though they are becoming desperate.

No such thing. It is a procedure that is required to be followed. The Republicans (Mitch McConnell) insisted that everyone must complete the procedure after both of Obama's elections. Do you accept a double standard? Surely not?

[alanrchase]

One wonders how thorough the vetting process is. Supposedly the RNC was hacked but the emails not released. If there is any incriminating content in those emails could they be used to influence the Presidency?

[WaywardWind]

6 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

No such thing. It is a procedure that is required to be followed. The Republicans (Mitch McConnell) insisted that everyone must complete the procedure after both of Obama's elections. Do you accept a double standard? Surely not?

Yes, Mitch defined the procedure very well:

 

 

Double standard much?

[WaywardWind]

13 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

One wonders how thorough the vetting process is. Supposedly the RNC was hacked but the emails not released. If there is any incriminating content in those emails could they be used to influence the Presidency?

 

Perhaps not from the RNC, but they most certainly have compromising information on Trump:

 

(CNN)Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.

 

The same report discloses that the Trump team was in contact with the Russian government throughout the election process:

The two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/donald-trump-intelligence-report-russia/index.html

 

Yup, the best president that the ruble can buy....

 

[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, WaywardWind said:

 

Perhaps not from the RNC, but they most certainly have compromising information on Trump:

 

(CNN)Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.

 

The same report discloses that the Trump team was in contact with the Russian government throughout the election process:

The two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/donald-trump-intelligence-report-russia/index.html

 

Yup, the best president that the ruble can buy....

 

 

[Grubster]

Hang on tightly to your seats congressmen because you are going to be vetted in the next few years and surely you have nothing to hide.

[ilostmypassword]

 

 

21 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

And so we see the beginning of the wingnut strategy for logjamming Congress and doing their darndest to make sure nothing ever gets done.  But of course it's only Republicans who're ever responsible for contentiousness and failure to get anything done within those hallowed halls.  Never wingnuts.

 

The new Party of No.   "NeoNons"?

 

 

Do you realize - are you capable of realizing - that Republicans in the last 3 congress routinely delayed appointment of all sorts of cabinet officials. In fact, they set a record that no other Congresses have ever even come close to.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republican-obstructionism-is-nothing-new/2016/02/15/2d856c12-d42c-11e5-b195-2e29a4e13425_story.html?utm_term=.6fe3986ec36f

[F4UCorsair]

On Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 8:58 PM, hawker9000 said:

And so we see the beginning of the wingnut strategy for logjamming Congress and doing their darndest to make sure nothing ever gets done.  But of course it's only Republicans who're ever responsible for contentiousness and failure to get anything done within those hallowed halls.  Never wingnuts.

 

The new Party of No.   "NeoNons"?

 

 

 

 

There's no underestimating the left of politics for petty vindictiveness and sheer stupidity.

[wreckingcountry]

 
 
There's no underestimating the left of politics for petty vindictiveness and sheer stupidity.

Of course The Senate double standard Leader McConnell could never be accused of anything vindictive

[Andaman Al]

1 hour ago, F4UCorsair said:

 

 

There's no underestimating the left of politics for petty vindictiveness and sheer stupidity.

 

Can you describe what the policy was then with Obama when the Republicans stated on his inauguration that they would filibuster every single bill that he tried to put to the house, and they did - over 800 of them. Does that qualify for vindictiveness and sheer stupidity?

[Becker]

16 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

 

Can you describe what the policy was then with Obama when the Republicans stated on his inauguration that they would filibuster every single bill that he tried to put to the house, and they did - over 800 of them. Does that qualify for vindictiveness and sheer stupidity?

Shame on you! Don't you know the election of the man-child ushered in the post-truth age? Facts don't matter any more, bluster, posturing and just plain old BS is the game of today. Please get with the program and quit debating rationally!

[Andaman Al]

Just now, Becker said:

Shame on you! Don't you know the election of the man-child ushered in the post-truth age? Facts don't matter any more, bluster, posturing and just plain old BS is the game of today. Please get with the program and quit debating rationally!

 

Sorry    I have tried getting my ticket to enter the Trump Fact Free Universe, but apparently it is full and I failed the IQ test for entry. I scored 75 and it was deemed to high.

[hawker9000]

2 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

 

Sorry    I have tried getting my ticket to enter the Trump Fact Free Universe, but apparently it is full and I failed the IQ test for entry. I scored 75 and it was deemed to high.

 

Well, you're half right...