Trump's Picks For Treasury & Energy Secretaries Face Confirmation Hearings On Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork) -- President-elect Donald Trump has picked Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to lead the Department of Agriculture, meanwhile two of his other cabinet nominees were on Capitol Hill for their Senate confirmation hearings Thursday.
"You just want to shoot questions at me and not let me explain," Trump's pick for Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, said.
It was an intense back-and-forth between Mnuchin and Democratic senators who wanted to know why he waited until Wednesday to disclose that he was a manger for investment funds located in the Caribbean.
"Did you use the Cayman Island corporation to avoid paying taxes?" asked Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan.
"I did not use a Cayman Island entity in any way to avoid paying taxes for myself," Mnuchin replied.
"So you helped others avoid paying taxes?" Stabenow asked.
"They didn't avoid, they followed the law," Mnuchin said.
However, Mnuchin said that's a law he would like to see changed with the new Trump administration.
Also on Capitol Hill was Energy Secretary nominee Rick Perry who said just because he was once the governor of Texas, it doesn't mean he's beholden to Big Oil.
"I'm committed to an all of the above policy," he said.
While Perry said the climate is changing, he's cautious on how he would address the issue.
"Some is naturally occurring, but some of it is caused by man-made activity. The question is how we address it in a thoughtful way that does not hurt economic growth," he said.
Perry said he regrets once calling for the Energy Department to be abolished.
Since leaving office, he's served on the boards of several pipeline companies, including the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. He severed those ties after being nominated for Energy Secretary.