WASHINGTON — Democrats delayed a planned panel vote on the nomination of Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin Monday by using an obscure Senate rule, pushing the vote back until Tuesday.
“While not surprising, this is an unfortunate and needless delay that simply means the Committee will reconvene tomorrow morning to vote on the nominee for U.S. Treasury Secretary,” Finance Committee Chairman Orin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement.
A number of Democrats on the committee have already pledged that they will vote against Mnuchin’s nomination. They appear reinvigorated after protests broke out in response to an executive order by President Trump that created a travel ban for seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Earlier in the day, Democratic leader Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would ask the Senate to delay votes on nominees until they provide a position on the travel ban. Whether the request is granted will be up to Republican leadership.
The Finance Committee will now vote on Mnuchin’s nomination Tuesday at 10 a.m. Unless a Republican senator objects, Mnuchin's nomination is expected to clear the panel and proceed to the full chamber for a final vote.
