President Trump added one new member to his Cabinet Wednesday, while three other nominees moved closer to confirmation despite fierce Democratic opposition.
The Senate approved Rex Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO, as secretary of state by a largely party-line vote of 56-43.
But three Democrats joined the Republican majority: Mark Warner of Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to confirm Tillerson.
Three Trump nominees were also approved by Senate committees — but only after Senate Republicans overturned rules at the Finance Committee to circumvent a Democratic boycott.
The committee’s approvals of Steven Mnuchin for Treasury and Dr. Tom Price for Health and Human Services came with only Republican members present.
By unanimous consent, the Republicans first agreed to change the committee’s rules, which had required the presence of one member of the opposing party.
The move came after Democrats boycotted a vote for a two days, arguing that Price and Mnuchin made untruthful statements to the committee that needed further vetting.
Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) blasted the Democratic snub as a “cheap political ploy.”
“They should be ashamed,” Hatch added after the meeting.
The boycott tactic was spreading. A hearing on Trump’s pick of Scott Pruitt for Environmental Protection Agency head stalled when Democrats refused to attend a committee meeting.
“I hope this is not the new normal,” said committee chairman Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
Republicans pulled a similar stunt in 2013 by boycotting a committee hearing in order to delay the vote for President Barack Obama’s EPA pick, Gina McCarthy.
One of Trump’s biggest successes Wednesday was the Judiciary Committee’s approval of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general.