Senate confirms first Trump Cabinet picks, Mattis and Kelly
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Friday to confirm James "Mad Dog" Mattis to be the nation's new secretary of Defense and John Kelly to be secretary of Homeland Security, giving President Trump his first victories in Congress just hours after his inauguration.
Senators voted 98-1 to approve Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general whom Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island said has demonstrated "competence, courage and character." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was the lone "no" vote. Senators voted 88-11 to confirm Kelly, who is also a retired Marine Corps general.
"I am very confident the morale of the United States military will go up (with Mattis in charge)," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A vote on the third member of Trump's national security team — CIA director nominee Mike Pompeo — was put off until next week as key Democrats called for more time to debate his nomination. A vote is likely on Monday.
The two confirmations lag behind the seven nominees approved on former President Obama's first Inauguration Day in 2009.
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Republican leaders complained that Democrats were delaying votes on Trump's nominees out of spite.
"I would hope the feeling around here, at least on Day One (of Trump's presidency), would be to have some level of cooperation," said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chamber's No. 2 Republican, tweeted that he is "prepared for the Senate to stay in session as long as it takes — all night, all weekend — to confirm President Trump's cabinet nominees."
But Democrats said Republicans are trying to rush through Trump's nominees, including Pompeo, without proper vetting. They said some of Trump's nominees still have not finished filling out the required forms disclosing their business dealings and potential conflicts of interest.
"No CIA Director in history has ever been confirmed on Inauguration Day," said Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in a joint statement. "The importance of the position of CIA Director, especially in these dangerous times, demands that the nomination be thoroughly vetted, questioned and debated."
McConnell said the Senate should not leave the CIA director post vacant, even for a few days. Former CIA director John Brennan retired on Friday.
"It makes no sense to leave the post open — not for another week, not for another day, not for another hour," McConnell said. "America's enemies will not pause in plotting, planning and training simply because the Democrats refuse to vote. The American people expect more."
Wyden said there are senior, experienced CIA officials in place to handle any threats until a new director is confirmed.
Republicans, who hold a 52-seat-majority in the Senate, need only 51 votes to confirm Trump's nominees. However, Democrats have the power under Senate rules to drag out the process by insisting on days of debate before each vote.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday that Democrats will insist on more time to consider nominees that have potential ethics problems.
He said those include: Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary who has been questioned about his investments in health care stocks; Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., the nominee for budget director who failed to pay required taxes for a babysitter; Rex Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO and secretary of State nominee who has refused to recuse himself from future issues involving the company; and Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Trump's nominee for Treasury secretary, who failed to disclose $100 million in assets on forms he gave the Senate Finance Committee.
Schumer also complained that the financial disclosure forms for Betsy DeVos, Trump's nominee for secretary of Education, weren't provided to senators until after her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
"The president isn't draining the swamp with his Cabinet picks, he's filling it up," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
While Democrats are expected to vote against many of Trump's nominees in the days ahead, some of the president's picks — including Elaine Chao, the president's choice for secretary of Transportation — are expected to be confirmed easily with bipartisan support. Chao served as secretary of Labor for President George W. Bush and deputy secretary of transportation for President George H.W. Bush. She is married to McConnell.
