Republicans on Wednesday went around the usual rules to advance the nominations of Steven Mnuchin to be treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to be health and human services secretary, a day after Democrats postponed the vote by not showing up.

After Democrats boycotted the Senate Finance Committee votes Tuesday, denying the quorum needed for a vote to proceed, chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah called another vote Wednesday. When Democrats again refused to show up, Republicans changed the rules to allow the votes to proceed without them.