Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:51 pm
At his first press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer complained without a hint of irony about Democrats blocking the confirmation of President Trump’s cabinet nominees.
Video:
.@PressSec Sean Spicer accuses Senate Democrats of "playing political games" with cabinet confirmation votes https://t.co/Okz2bwUl4f pic.twitter.com/ZnQ8O7NWVN
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— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 23, 2017
Spicer said, “The other subject that is certain to come up is the status of his nominees during this meeting. It is important to note that at this point in 2009, President Obama had seven of his nominees confirmed on day one, and five more in the first week. As it stands today, we have two. Democrats even held up the confirmation of CIA Director Mike Pompeo needlessly leaving one of our most important national security agencies without its top leader on day one. It’s time for Senate Democrats to stop playing political games with the core functions of political government and to allow President Trump’s unquestionably qualified and talented group of cabinet nominees to get to work on behalf of the American people.”
Democrats shouldn’t be playing political games that mess with the core functions of government like Republicans did when they shut down the government, or when they left the Supreme Court with eight justices because they refused to vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
The fact the Trump White House is complaining shows that the Senate Democratic tactics are working. Democrats promised in December 2016 that they would delay Trump’s cabinet nominees and chew up most of his first 100 days in office. Republicans brought this on themselves with their unprecedented obstruction of President Obama.
Senate Democrats don’t have the power to block Trump’s nominees, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, it’s payback time.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
