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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Chair Committee on Energy and Natural Resources accuses Democrats of “delays and obstruction” in nominating top energy nominees for President-elect Trump’s incoming administration.
“Senate Democrats are demonstrating once again that delaying and obstructing the incoming Trump administration is their top priority,” Lee said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
“Both Gov. Doug Burgham and the Chris Wright documents were submitted to the Office of Government Ethics by their respective agencies. The confirmation process is progressing as it should and good progress has been made to ensure that these nominees have been thoroughly vetted and are ready to go. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee followed all the rules, noting their confirmation hearings.
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Mike Lee said his Democratic counterpart is trying to delay Trump’s confirmation hearing. (Reuters)
“This is the same party that held hearings for President Obama’s candidates in 2009 under almost identical circumstances. While the Democrats are dragging their feet, the Republicans are moving forward and doing the job the American people expect us to do. It’s time for the Senate. Democrats must take the moment with the seriousness it demands.”
The Utah Republican responded to claims by his fellow Democrat on the committee, ranking member Martin Heinrich, who suggested he had scheduled a confirmation hearing for the CEO and founder Liberty Energy Chris WrightTrump’s pick for energy secretary and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgham, Trump’s pick for interior secretary, broke protocol.
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Heinrich responded this week to a “violation of decades of Senate protocol and precedent” when he said Lee scheduled Burgum’s hearing without the consent of the committee minority.
“I am very disappointed that Chairman Lee scheduled the first confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee over my objections and before the background information was given to the committee. It’s a violation of protocol and a precedent set over decades by presidents of both parties,” Heinrich said in a statement Wednesday after Lee formally scheduled Burgum’s Jan. 14 confirmation hearing.
Trump appointed Burgum to head the Department of the Interior. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He issued a second statement Thursday in response to Wright’s formal confirmation hearing scheduled for Jan. 15.
“I am deeply disappointed that Chairman Lee has observed a second nomination hearing without receiving from the nominees the information required by law and under committee rules, including a completed FBI background check and financial report,” the senator said.
Heinrich said, “The documents that the Energy and Natural Resources Democrats don’t have are not just documents. They are documents, disclosures and (by) ethics agreement required by our committee rules and by law.”
But according to Lee, who assumed the role of chairman after Sen. John Barroso, R-Wyo., was elected as Senate majority leader, his actions follow committee precedent.
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Lee became the new chairman of the Committee on Energy. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
He also claimed he was “in full compliance” with all the rules when it came to setting up confirmation hearings for Trump’s picks for key energy roles.
While Heinrich accused Lee of going against precedent, a similar scenario played out in 2009 under former President Obama’s administration. Stephen Chu and Ken Salazar, former energy and interior secretaries respectively, held confirmation hearings announced by former energy chairman Jeff Bingaman before all the paperwork was received.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesman for the Democratic committee said that these are the only instances of such a schedule of events, “even though the committee is considering dozens and dozens of nominations.
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In 2009, some of Obama’s nominations followed a similar schedule. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“Furthermore, unlike the hearing that Chairman Lee observed, the committee did not receive information from Dr. Chu and Mr. Salazar until a day after the report was released. It’s been days since Chairman Lee noticed the hearing. But the committee has not yet received the necessary documents and is not sure that it will receive them by the time of the hearing.”
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Lee addressed Heinrich’s criticism that Democrats “want to conflate the message with the requirements that generally apply to nominations.”
“Rest assured, Republicans will continue to follow all committee rules,” he said.
