Patricia Ann Egenberger: McConnell should follow his own guidelines for nominees

Sen. Mitch McConnell wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2009 stating requirements for the vetting presidential cabinet nominees:

“1) The FBI background check is complete and submitted to the committee in time for review and prior to a hearing being notices. 2) The Office of Government Ethics letter is complete and submitted to the committee in time for review and prior to a committee hearing. 3) Financial disclosure statements (and tax returns for applicable committees) are complete and submitted to the committee for review prior to a hearing being noticed. 4) All committee questionnaires are complete and have been returned to the committee. A reasonable opportunity for follow-up questions has been afforded committee members, and nominees have answered, with sufficient time for review prior to a committee vote. 5)The nominee is willing to have committee staff interviews, where that has been the practice. 6) The nominee has had a hearing. 7) The nominee agrees to courtesy visits with members when requested. 8) The nominee has committed to cooperate with the ranking (minority) member on requests for information and transparency.”

I fully expect McConnell to follow his own guidelines for the current nominees and not railroad them through the Senate.

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Patricia Ann Egenberger: McConnell should follow his own guidelines for nominees."