Wyden Leads Boycott of Confirmation Votes on Trump Nominees

Led by Ron Wyden of Oregon, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are boycotting confirmation votes on two of President Trump - Treasury nominee Steve Mnuchin and Tom Price, the pick to head Health and Human Services.

Wyden, who made the announcement just before the committee was scheduled to begin voting, said the Democrats believe the two nominees were not honest when testifying.

"The Finance Committee was scheduled to vote on two nominees who have misled the public and held back important information about their backgrounds," Wyden said. "Until questions are answered, Democrats believe the committee should not move forward with either nomination."

Wyden said the Democrats believe Price was not being hones when he said he hadn't received an exclusive discount in an Australian biomedical firm,

"From the committee’s investigation to company documents to the company officials’ own words, the evidence tells a different story," Wyden said. "It looks more and more like Congressman Price got special access to a special deal."

As for Mnuchin, Wyden said when the nominee led OneWest Bank, it did not engage in robo-signing foreclosure documents.

"That is indisputably false," Wyden said. "Court documents and testimony show that OneWest employees processed hundreds of documents a week, spending only seconds on each, and they routinely did so without verifying their contents.

"What OneWest did is the textbook definition of shady robo-signing practices."

Wyden said that the committee needs to have more hearings and get more answers.

"The Finance Committee needs to continue following its bipartisan vetting process that has been upheld for more than 20 years," he said. "This is about getting answers to questions, plain and simple.

"Ethics laws are not optional, and nominees do not have a right to treat disclosure like a shell game."

Photo Senator Wyden's Office