Sen. Ruben Gallego blocks VA nominees to protest Trump’s plans to cut the agency's workforce
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced Tuesday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats’ bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs from the sprawling agency that serves millions of military veterans.
WASHINGTON — Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced Tuesday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats’ bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs from the sprawling agency that serves millions of military veterans.
Gallego, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran, made the announcement just hours before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was scheduled to hear testimony from three nominees for the VA who are military veterans themselves. It marked a significant escalation in the Democrats' effort to counter President Donald Trump’s plans to slash federal agencies and a sharply partisan move on a committee that has often been marked by cooperation between Republicans and Democrats.
“Talking to veterans, people that I served with as well as seeing some of what’s happening in Arizona, I decided that whatever tool I have to fix the situation, I’m going to use it. And this is one of the few tools I have at this point,” Gallego told The Associated Press.
The holds — a maneuver used on occasion in the Senate — means that it is impossible for the chamber to move quickly to confirm the nominees and would potentially have to tie up hours or days of floor time to advance each nominee.
California Sen. Adam Schiff, another freshman Democrat, also announced Tuesday he would block Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., Ed Martin. Schiff said on social media that since being named to the role on an interim basis, Martin had been “threatening opponents, firing public servants, and using his office to chill free speech.”
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