Senate Democrats were livid Friday after a conference call with Health and Human Services officials about the thousands of immigrant children who remain separated from their parents, calling the Trump administration’s conduct “Orwellian.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was on the call but took no questions. Officials took only three questions on the senators-only call, said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
“They read from a script for around 20 minutes and then they took only 3 questions from Senators,” Schatz tweeted. “It was Orwellian in its overconfidence and vagueness. I am more, not less worried for these kids.”
Azar revealed Thursday that some 3,000 children, who were separated from their parents at the border as a result of President Trump’s zero tolerance policy remain in detention and have not been reunited with their families. The department originally estimated just upward of 2,000 had been separated.
Just got off a “Senators Only” conference call with @SecAzar about the border fiasco they created. It was a farce of pure propaganda and no substitute for real Congressional oversight. Only 3 Senators got to ask questions and by that time @SecAzar was gone. We need real answers.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) July 6, 2018
About 100 of the 3,000 in the agency’s custody are younger than 5, Azar told reporters Thursday. But Democratic senators were not satisfied after their Friday call with the secretary, saying HHS doesn’t appear to have information or a system to reunify families.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said agency officials told them only senators approved by the chair and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would be allowed access to facilities detaining children.
HHS censoring&blocking Senators from visiting facilities housing separated children – saying only Senators approved by Chair and Ranking Member of Judiciary Committee are permissible. Why are they evading Congressional scrutiny?
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) July 6, 2018
