Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need For A Robust Vetting Process In the Senate, Allowing For Careful Evaluation Of Cabinet Nominees

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor urging Senate Republicans to not rush the Cabinet confirmation process and be transparent with the American people. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The American people have a right to know if President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees are going to fight for them. Will they lower people’s costs? Will they be loyal to the country and the Constitution? Or will they cater to their wealthy benefactors like the first Trump Administration? Will they try to undo the wellsprings of democracy? We can answer these questions through a robust nomination process in the Senate.

But when Republicans like the Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee try to rush nominees before Senators have even received basic information, Americans have to ask, what are Republicans trying to hide when they don't want their nominees to have background checks and don't want to have full information about them?

These nominees will have enormous power. Every American has to go through a background check, and be asked questions, when they're applying for a job. Well, these jobs are so important – of course this should happen here. But so far, some of the Republican chairs of committees are resisting, and that doesn't speak well for the qualifications or the confidence they have in their nominees.

In the last two days, the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has noticed hearings on not one, but two of President Trump’s nominees without minority consent: Governor Doug Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior and Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy.

These two positions – Secretary of Interior, Secretary of Energy – will be tasked with managing our national resources and our clean energy future.

They will be responsible for protecting the good-paying clean energy jobs created under President Biden. And I remind my Republican colleagues, those jobs are in red states as much as they are in blue states.

The American people deserve to know if these Cabinet nominees will protect good-paying clean energy jobs or if they will kill these jobs and put a lot of people out of work for some ideological thing they're chasing.

Yet, Senate Democrats on the committee have yet to receive basic information about either of these nominees' backgrounds. Republicans choosing to rush nominees is quickly becoming a pattern. It's hard not to wonder: what are the Republicans trying to hide about these nominees from the American people? What are they trying to hide? What are they afraid of?

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