Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Senate is now debating the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be the Secretary of the Treasury, and this is yet another nomination on which the majority has walked away, unfortunately, from a 20-year bipartisan approach when it comes to the vetting process. In 2009, when Tim Geithner was President Obama's first Treasury nominee, a vetting issue came up and both sides of the Finance Committee carried the investigation out to its conclusion, but the situation has turned out quite differently this time. There were several properties in the United States and abroad worth $100 million missing from Mr. Mnuchin's disclosure. He failed to disclose several positions in various firms. He misled the public. He misled the committee about his bank foreclosure tactics, and he appears to have hidden key data requested by Members of this body. Frankly, I don't believe these investigations would have been uncovered at all if not for the work of the minority's investigation team. The majority, however, looked the other way, and the vetting process was ended prematurely. So the vote on this nomination is imminent. That is the first concern held by Members on this side, and I am going to speak more about that today and as this debate continues. This morning, though, I want to focus on the substance of our concerns. The single biggest challenge is what to do to reconnect working Americans with this country's economic engine.…”