and human services. but in 2017, republicans hold the majority in the senate and unless gop senators defect from their party, these are the people who will be running the government. i m joined now by senator brian schatz, democrat from hawaii. senator, there are various opinions about how senators should take their role of advice and consent. there are some who believe the president should have constitutionally and as a matter of principle wide latitude in selecting the people in his administration. others were much more willing to vote no. where s your personal feeling on this? well, i think a president ought to have his or her cabinet. i think they ought to be able to assemble there team but there should be exceptions. to me those exceptions come with pruitt, betsy devos and time price. and the reason for all three of them i think not being qualified for these cabinet positions is that they are unique. they are being asked to lead agencies they want to dismantle. tom price wants t
majority report. katie, the standard is interesting. i remember the early days of clinton they came right out and they ran into a buzz saw with several nominees. tom daschle was an example of that for barack obama, though mostly smooth sailing. it occurs that in some ways that s perception and shame. a scandal is only big enough to blow up a nominee if that s how it s perceived to be but if you can lock down the votes you can basically confirm anyone. well, and the rules are just sort of different now, you know? it used to be when you had some scandals that the incumbent the president-elect and his team would hint that this is maybe time to step aside. trump doesn t really cow that easily. trump is standing by people that he has put into these poogss. some of these so-called scandals, are they scandals? tom price s stock trade netted him i think $300. is that something the american people will be so outraged over
joining me are three attorneys general we have other attorney agains scoot pruitt and ken puchinela. first final thoughts with ken. i think this was successful in focusing on the difference between the federal government and the states and the balance between the two. nobody bombed here but i think some people shined that they are committed to reigning in the federal government. we saw thoughtful substantive conversations. we heard from candidates they are going to be different than this president they will respect the roles of the state as they do key issues. it s exciting.
much that was just clearly not just improper but beyond the pale. i think david is right. i think trump is actually trading up in terms of professionalism, in terms of ability to get stuff done without creating controversy that you don t need. and, so, i presume andrew wheeler at epa will continue the policies that scott pruitt started, only he ll do it more cleverly and more professionally and more quietly and just keep changing those regulations. well, in terms of shining a light on that, jennifer, leading some of the reporting here on mr. wheeler, who is a new name because he s coming into pruitt s job today, former coal lobbyist who shares his zeal to undue government regulations but unlike pruitt, he s viewed, as mentioned here tonight, a con sumate washington insider. he could be more effective in
holiday news week when he thinks fewer people may not notice. but that s just the optics part. the substance is far more important. and the substance tonight that i can report to you is scoot pruitt is out. donald trump tweeting it today. he told reporters while everyone knows the controversies with scott, within the agency, he said, we were extremely happy. that is largely false. he was under fire precisely because people within the epa blew the whistle on his contact from making an aid find a job for his wife to spending $40,000 on a soundproof phone booth to trying to get a discount on a used trump hotel mattress to the bizarre er rand of buying up scented lotion from the ritz hotel. one of his actions has already broken the law. this was the ultimate in swampy