Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s conference has scheduled six Cabinet-level confirmations hearings for next Wednesday, Jan. 11, the same day the chamber will likely slog through an all-night vote-a-rama on a budget and the president-elect will give his first press conference in six months.
It’s a disastrous schedule for Senate Democrats.
Republicans insist their intention is not to obscure the confirmation hearings for cabinet nominees amid a flurry of political activity. But the net result will likely be too many events for comprehensive news coverage — and it may tank Senate Democrats’ long-planned strategy to systematically attack Trump’s cabinet and wound the Republican Party.
“There is a whole lot of: ‘Don’t watch what we’re doing here,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the No. 3 Democratic senator.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has personally urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) not to schedule simultaneous hearings on Trump’s selections, warning that such a move would test the new relationship between the two leaders. But the GOP ignored the entreaty by scheduling the attorney general, secretary of state, CIA director, education secretary, homeland security chief and transportation secretary all for the same day. (our emphasis)There's also a whole lot of F.U. here, Sen. Murray.
But it's simply a continuation of the tactics used over the past 8 years -- although instead of blocking President Obama at every turn, now they're blocking Democrats who want to shed light on the swamp creatures neo- fascist Putin poodle Donald "Rump" Trump is putting into power. If this type of behavior doesn't convince Democrats there's no compromising with these cynical rats, we don't know what will.
By the way, watch the media portray this as "hardball," not the attack on transparency and accountability that it is.
