Kaine Urges Committee To Hold Additional Hearing On Education Secretary Nominee Betsy DeVos And Include More Hearing Witnesses For Labor Secretary Nominee Andrew Puzder

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined his colleagues in calling on HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander to hold an additional hearing on the nomination of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and include more witnesses for any hearing on Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder so that the American people have the information needed to determine whether President Trump’s nominees are fit for their roles.

“This is not about politics, it should not be about partisanship--it should be about doing the work we were elected by our states to do to ask questions of nominees on behalf of the people we represent,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators wrote that more hearings are needed to increase transparency in the nominations process, highlighting the importance of Congress and the American public getting the opportunity to hear testimony from Puzder’s current and former employees and hearing from DeVos about her financial and ethics paperwork, which was not released until after her hearing on Friday evening. In their letters, the Senators highlight a pattern of rushing nominees through the HELP Committee before their records can be appropriately vetted.

Alexander has denied the HELP Committee a second public hearing to examine DeVos’ record. 

The full text of the letter regarding Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos can be found here.
The full text of the letter regarding Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder can be found here.

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