WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats have succeeded in delaying for one day a scheduled committee vote on President Donald Trump's nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be treasury secretary.
The Senate Finance Committee said Monday that the meeting to vote on the nomination, which had been scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, will now take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Democrats said they requested the delay to allow lawmakers to attend a candlelight vigil protesting Trump's travel ban aimed at seven Muslim-majority countries.
Mnuchin clashed with Democrats during a lengthy confirmation hearing on Jan. 19. He was accused of failing to protect thousands of homeowners from unnecessary foreclosures when he headed OneWest bank and for failing to disclose nearly $100 million in assets on forms he filed with the committee.
Mnuchin called his failure to disclose assets an oversight. He said he was proud of his tenure at OneWest, saying he had worked to protect as many homeowners as possible from losing their homes to foreclosure.
Opponents of Mnuchin's nomination have been running ads in states which were hit hard by foreclosures during the housing crisis in an effort to bring pressure on Republicans to join Democrats in opposing Mnuchin's nomination.
On Monday, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia and a member of the Finance Committee, announced his opposition to Mnuchin.
"Throughout the confirmation process, Mr. Mnuchin has failed to adequately demonstrate that he will be a forceful advocate for innovative policies that will make the U.S. economy work better for the majority of Americans," Warner said in a statement.
