A dozen Democrats knocked off work today. All members of the Senate Finance Committee refused to vote on two of President Trump’s cabinet nominees until they received additional information about unanswered questions.
Ranking Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon accused the nominees of “misleading Congress” and “misleading America.” After more than nine hours of hearings for Trump’s HHS and Treasury Secretary nominees, it’s clear Democrats are stalling for more time.
But they’re not exactly playing hooky. Instead, Democrats are suffering from radiation sickness — an illness they gleefully introduced in the upper chamber when they decided to go nuclear.
Three years ago, a Republican minority followed the rules to slow President Obama’s judicial nominees. It was obstruction fair and square. Rather than compromise though, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid went nuclear, rewriting the rules to make it impossible for the minority to filibuster an executive nominee.
Every single Democrat now sitting on the Finance Committee joined him. In fact, only two Democrats, Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, opposed the rule change. The roll call vote is inescapable and clear. Democrats did this to themselves.
“If you want to play games, set yet another precedent that you’ll no doubt come to regret,” then Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned at the time, “I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle: You’ll regret this, and you may regret it a lot sooner than you think.”
But Democrats are determined to prove McConnell wrong by blowing up the process. Even though they rewrote the rulebook, they aren’t prepared to live under their own guidelines. Until the sergeant-at-arms hauls them in or Republicans compromise, the Democrats refuse to do their job.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
