HHS Nominee Vote Delayed By Senate Dem Boycott

31 Jan 2017

• By Sue Darcey

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden led other panel Democrats in boycotting a planned Jan. 31 vote on the confirmation of Rep. Tom Price as HHS Secretary. Wyden said the nominee "misled the public" and held back information on discounted shares of an Australian biomedical firm he bought. Committee Chair Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was surprised by the setback to President Trump's nominee, and swore to bring Senate Democrats back to the committee to "do their job.”

Senate Finance Committee Democrats successfully blocked and temporarily delayed the committee’s Jan. 31 confirmation vote on Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as President Trump’s choice for HHS Secretary by refusing to participate in the planned vote. The committee’s confirmation of a second nominee to Trump’s cabinet, Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin, was also blocked by the minority party’s boycott.

Under the Finance Committee rules, a quorum – a simple majority that includes one member of the minority party –...