WASHINGTON — On Monday, Senator Mike Lee of Utah said that he has delayed the confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department by two days only.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, Lee, postponed the hearing of former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum from Tuesday to Thursday.
According to a statement released by Lee, Governor Doug Burgum has cooperated completely with the confirmation process and has sent his documentation to the Office of Government Ethics on time. OGE has not yet finished its review, even though he complied and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee observed the hearing in compliance with all regulations. It is intolerable that there is a bureaucratic delay.
Although Lee warned that the Office of Government Ethics should move swiftly, he stated that the additional 48 hours was intended to give the agency a little more time to do its task.
Lee stated that the committee will move Governor Burgum’s hearing to Thursday in order to maintain openness and the integrity of this process. We do, however, anticipate that OGE will move quickly to finish its review without any further needless delays. We are still dedicated to making sure these crucial confirmations proceed as soon as possible because the American people deserve a government that works effectively to achieve its goals.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member, Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, expressed concerns last week about Burgum’s hearing occurring prior to specific documents being submitted to the committee.
The Senate is required by the Constitution to advise the President’s nominees and, if it so chooses, to assent to them. In a statement issued last week, Heinrich stated that each nominee must be carefully considered for this. In order to accomplish this, applicants who have been before the ENR Committee for decades have undergone an FBI background check, approved by the Department’s ethics office, and responded to a standard questionnaire and financial disclosure form. I refuse to agree to notice of nomination hearings until these procedures are finished.
Every government, party, and nominee need to be held to the same standards. Chairman Lee should rethink his choice, in my opinion.
In a letter published Monday morning, Heinrich, seven other Democrats on the committee, and one independent urged Lee to postpone the hearing until the panel had received the ethics agreement, the standard financial disclosure report, or the Office of Government Ethics’ and the designated agency ethics officer’s opinions confirming the nominee’s compliance with the ethics laws.
The lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Governor Burgum’s nomination for at least one week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials, as the Committee still lacks these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities.”
Among them were Democratic lawmakers Maria Cantwell of Washington, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Angus King of Maine, Alex Padilla of California, and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
