Schumer Floor Remarks on Commerce Secretary Nominee Wilbur Ross

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today delivered remarks on the Senate floor detailing his opposition to voting to confirm nominee for Commerce Secretary. Below are his remarks:

Madam President, I rise to echo the concern expressed by my colleague from Florida, Sen. Nelson, about the White House’s refusal to provide written testimony relevant to Mr. Ross’s nomination prior to the vote this evening.

Mr. Ross was a key economic advisor to the Trump campaign and has had business ties with the Bank of Cyprus – a bank with significant Russian investments.

I understand the Commerce Committee, of which my friend from Florida is a ranking member, sent a letter to Mr. Ross to get more information about those ties. A perfectly reasonable request given the circumstances. This information is particularly relevant to the Senate since, in recent days, questions about the connections between the Trump Administration and Russia have proliferated.

While Mr. Ross has told my friend from Florida that there’s nothing to worry about, the White House is sitting on Mr. Ross’s written response to Sen. Nelson’s letter -- so the Senate will not get the written answers to these important questions before voting on his nomination.

It is another example of this Administration abandoning transparency and trying to jam their nominees through without making all the relevant information public and available. They have not enjoyed a good few weeks with these nominees. They have gotten them through, but with a lot of pain and a lot of public disconcert, and here we have another example. We're getting to the end of the Cabinet nominees, a nominee with ties to Russia. There is a document that states what they are, and so typical of this Administration that stonewalls, that despises transparency, they don't let the letter be freed and make it available until after the vote. On an issue as sensitive and important to national security as Russia, it is another black mark on this nascent Administration.