CHECKS AND BALANCES

Priebus: ‘No Reason’ to Postpone Confirmation Hearings

Because Cabinet nominees are “highly successful” people.

Soon-to-be White House chief of staff Reince Priebus says there’s “no reason” to postpone Senate confirmation hearings until after background checks are done on Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees. “No, they have to get moving. They have to move faster,” Priebus said in an interview with Fox News. Despite widespread concerns among Democrats about many of Trump’s picks’ ties with Russia and personal conflicts of interest, Priebus argued that because the nominees are “people that have been highly successful in their lives,” their confirmation hearings should take priority over their background checks. “The fact is there’s no reason” for delays, he said. “It’s the first week of January, they have all the details that they need, they have all the information that they need, it’s no different from any other new administration coming in. The American people demand it. Change was voted for and change we will get,” he said. The Office of Government Ethics announced this weekend that it had not yet completed background checks, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday stood his ground, saying he wouldn’t allow confirmation votes until the background checks are complete.