The top Senate Democrats on several committees will launch a push Thursday to require President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees to provide their tax returns to committees before their confirmation hearings.
Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon will hold a press conference at noon to press for a Senate rules change requiring all Cabinet nominees to submit three years of their tax returns to the panel charged with reviewing their qualifications for the top Trump administration posts. Democrats, who are in the minority, can try to make the case for the tax return mandate but lack the power to push through the rules change themselves.
“Despite President-elect Trump’s promise to ‘drain the swamp,’ many of his nominees are wealthy insiders and extremists that would only help strengthen special interests’ grip on Washington Republicans,” Democrats said in a release. “Providing committees with tax returns will allow for greater and much-needed oversight and scrutiny throughout [the] committee vetting process.”
Right now, only the Senate committees on Finance, Budget and Homeland Security ad Governmental Affairs have the explicit authority, within their rules, to require nominees to submit their tax returns.
Stabenow is the top Democrat on the Agriculture Committee; Murray holds the same rank on the Committee on Health Education, Labor & Pensions; and Wyden is the most senior Democrat on the Finance panel.
