To: The United States Senate
No rubber-stamping of Trump's appointees!
As the New York Times has reported, the head of the Office of Government Ethics has said that at no time in recent memory has any confirmation hearing of a presidential appointee commenced before all ethical concerns and financial conflicts of interest had been properly investigated. However, despite the fact that several of Trump's cabinet appointees have not even filed the required paperwork and no reviews have been completed, Senate Republicans insist on starting hearings immediately and scheduling only minimal time for each hearing. We demand that each proposed appointee be given full and proper review by the Office of Government Ethics before their confirmation hearing, and that each appointee be subject to in-depth and careful questioning by the Senate, with regard to public good and the future of our country, not partisan gain.
Why is this important?
So many of Trump's proposed appointees are unqualified (someone from the Sierra Club has noted the appointing Scott Pruitt to the EPA is like appointing an arsonist to head the fire department) and/or present a danger to the country and its future or both. It is essential that all the facts about their background and all of their positions on relevant issues be investigated, and made public, before they come to positions of power. Senators need to understand their constituents' concerns and act in response to them.