Toomey: Democrats' Efforts To Block Trump Nominees Is 'A Disgrace'
Philadelphia (CBS) - Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey reacted angrily to measures taken in the Senate to block President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, particularly Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Toomey told Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that he feels their actions are out of line but, ultimately, will not be successful in blocking anyone.
"Never had we had the boycotts of committees so as to deny the committee a quorum so that the committee can't function. The answer, though, is every time, we're just finding ways to persevere and work our way through it," Toomey said. "They can drag things out, make things take a long time, we keep the Senate in session 24 hours a day. The clock runs out and we have our vote. It might be at 5 a.m. It might at 2 a.m. But that's when it is and we're confirming people. It's going much more slowly than it should, much more slowly than for any president, I think, since the 19th century, to give you a little perspective there, but we're getting it done."
Toomey defended Sessions against racism charges leveled at him during the confirmation hearings and in the media.
"It's a disgrace. They know that Jeff Sessions is a good and decent man. They've worked with him. They've worked closely with him. They've sponsored legislation together. One of the things I find most offensive, and I talked about this on the Senate floor yesterday, is this outrageous smear that he's somehow a racist," Toomey explained. "This guy is not a racist. He took it upon himself to destroy the KKK in Alabama when he was a U.S. Attorney and he systematically did it, including bankrupting them so as to destroy the organization."
He believes that many Democrats are, only now, taking a hard line against Sessions because of objections being raised by some constituents.
"He's had Democrats work with him on all of these, singing his praises along the way but then when it comes to a Trump administration, as some in their base get their hair on fire, and they all decide they have to oppose Jeff Sessions. It's really, really a disappointing moment for my Democratic colleagues, in my opinion," the Pennsylvania senator said.
Toomey also defended DeVos, saying her vision for the education system is exactly what is needed.
"We have to disrupt this model, a quasi monopoly on education, there's too many kids it is not serving well," Toomey said. "It's not a slander against individual teachers. It's just a fact that those kids would be better off if they had a choice in the kind of school and the specific school that they attend. Betsy DeVos has devoted her adult life to give poor kids more options so that they can get better education and the education establishment will not abide that."