Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings **live commentary thread**

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Shulkin confirmed 100-0. Even Gillibrand voted for this one.

[Pandaguineapig]

I understand the opposition to Puzder but are democrats willing to have Scott Walker as the next Secretary of Labor just so they can claim a scalp?

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Senate adjourned for the night. Tomorrow will begin with the final vote on the nomination of Linda McMahon to be the administrator of the small business administration, preceded by limited debate of said nomination.  Debate on other nominees may follow.

[ProgressiveCanadian]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

[Maxwell]

I understand the opposition to Puzder but are democrats willing to have Scott Walker as the next Secretary of Labor just so they can claim a scalp?

I think both are equally bad - Walker knows the walk about, but Puzder strikes me as a generally crueler human being and more willing to completely savage the department.

[The Other Castro]

Senate adjourned for the night. Tomorrow will begin with the final vote on the nomination of Linda McMahon to be the administrator of the small business administration, preceded by limited debate of said nomination.  Debate on other nominees may follow.

McMahon should face very little opposition.

[Virginiá]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

In the end, odds are you end up with a Republican whose voting record you will come to dislike much more than Manchin's. If you want a more preferable WV Senator, go for 2020's race.

Take what you can get.

[The Other Castro]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Is Manchild an idiot? I can understand voting for Sessions in West Virginia, but some Wall Street slime creature?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

This. There are much bigger fish to fry than jeopardizing the balance of power in the Senate because Manchin voted for Trump's cabinet nominees. Take out Flake and Heller while protecting the vulnerable Democrats first.

[ProgressiveCanadian]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

This. There are much bigger fish to fry than jeopardizing the balance of power in the Senate because Manchin voted for Trump's cabinet nominees. Take out Flake and Heller while protecting the vulnerable Democrats first.

You don't win if you don't try you guys. Plus he already voted for Sessions and Munuchin so he already made his bed.

[Virginiá]

You don't win if you don't try you guys. Plus he already voted for Sessions and Munuchin so he already made his bed.

Yes, and maybe that is a fine attitude to take in states that are more competitive, but this is West Virginia. Democrats are rapidly going extinct there. The outcome of what you're saying is highly likely to be the opposite of what you want.

Honestly I don't get why you (and so many others) still propose these kinds of actions given the very obvious parallels to the chaos on the GOP side. They cost themselves a number of important races over the years because they had to have someone more pure and more willing to oppose Obama. It's ridiculous.

If you guys aren't willing to allow the Democratic Party to have a share of moderates/centrists then I'm unsure how you expect a broad governing coalition to form. It can't be all liberals. America is not that liberal. Give Manchin some breathing room.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

McMahon confirmed 81-19.

I support primarying Manchin with a Tester or Casey type. I would endorse such candidate in the general.

[The_Doctor]

Manchin is voting for Trump's cabinet nominees to inoculate himself. I'm a little surprised that Donnelly, Heitkamp, and others aren't. The Trump Resistance is much weaker if they lose re-election. The long term game requires that we have to be strategic in the first two years against King Donald I.

[Gass3268]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

This. There are much bigger fish to fry than jeopardizing the balance of power in the Senate because Manchin voted for Trump's cabinet nominees. Take out Flake and Heller while protecting the vulnerable Democrats first.

You don't win if you don't try you guys. Plus he already voted for Sessions and Munuchin so he already made his bed.

If you want to primary Democrats look to Delaware. That would be the first place to start.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

This. There are much bigger fish to fry than jeopardizing the balance of power in the Senate because Manchin voted for Trump's cabinet nominees. Take out Flake and Heller while protecting the vulnerable Democrats first.

You don't win if you don't try you guys. Plus he already voted for Sessions and Munuchin so he already made his bed.

If you want to primary Democrats look to Delaware. That would be the first place to start.

Carper looks like a leftist hack when compared to what Manchin has done in the last month.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Are their any other floor votes expected to occur this week?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Looks like Manchin needs a primary challenger!

Lol sure, go ahead and primary Manchin. A Democrat in West Virginia. See what happens.

This. There are much bigger fish to fry than jeopardizing the balance of power in the Senate because Manchin voted for Trump's cabinet nominees. Take out Flake and Heller while protecting the vulnerable Democrats first.

You don't win if you don't try you guys. Plus he already voted for Sessions and Munuchin so he already made his bed.

Manchin took the lead on universal background checks after Sandy Hook and he's a Senator from West Virginia, I care more about that then I do about whether he votes with us on something that we have no chance of winning anyway.  Manchin does what he can when he can and if you don't see how his situation is different than someone like Lieberman, I really don't know what to say except that the world is a far more complicated place than you think.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

You Manchin haters do realize that he's voting exactly the way that appeases the  majority of his constituents, right?

[Devout Centrist]

You Manchin haters do realize that he's voting exactly the way that appeases the  majority of his constituents, right?

How does voting for a former Goldman Sachs executive accomplish this?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

You Manchin haters do realize that he's voting exactly the way that appeases the  majority of his constituents, right?

How does voting for a former Goldman Sachs executive accomplish this?

Dude I don't know, but do you really think he wants to commit political suicide by voting for cabinet picks his voters all hate?  Sure he may make a principled stand and vote his own way once or twice but not on all the picks.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Are their any other floor votes expected to occur this week?

McConnell filed cloture motions on Ross, Carson, Perry, Zinke, Pruitt, and Mulvaney last night, but all that means is he filed his intent to end debate on those nominees and vote on them. No idea when we'll get formal votes to end debate and formal votes to confirm.

You can follow the senate floor monitor twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/senategopfloor

[Devout Centrist]

You Manchin haters do realize that he's voting exactly the way that appeases the  majority of his constituents, right?

How does voting for a former Goldman Sachs executive accomplish this?

Dude I don't know, but do you really think he wants to commit political suicide by voting for cabinet picks his voters all hate?  Sure he may make a principled stand and vote his own way once or twice but not on all the picks.

I kinda doubt voting against the likes of Mnuchin would really hamstring his career. Manchin has been able to build his credibility on defying both parties and generally being a populist. How the hell is his challenger going to nail him to a wall for voting against some elitists?

And no, I'm not suggesting he should vote down everyone or even a majority, but at a certain point you have to do wonder how much this vote really matters.

[Mr. Morden]

Are their any other floor votes expected to occur this week?

McConnell filed cloture motions on Ross, Carson, Perry, Zinke, Pruitt, and Mulvaney last night, but all that means is he filed his intent to end debate on those nominees and vote on them. No idea when we'll get formal votes to end debate and formal votes to confirm.

You can follow the senate floor monitor twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/senategopfloor

And isn't the Senate in recess for all of next week?  I think anyone not confirmed this week has to wait until the week of Feb. 27th.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Are their any other floor votes expected to occur this week?

McConnell filed cloture motions on Ross, Carson, Perry, Zinke, Pruitt, and Mulvaney last night, but all that means is he filed his intent to end debate on those nominees and vote on them. No idea when we'll get formal votes to end debate and formal votes to confirm.

You can follow the senate floor monitor twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/senategopfloor

And isn't the Senate in recess for all of next week?  I think anyone not confirmed this week has to wait until the week of Feb. 27th.

Yes. You can see the calendar for the whole year here: https://www.senate.gov/legislative/resources/pdf/2017_calendar.pdf