Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Monday he wants to begin confirmation hearings for Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s proposed Cabinet picks before inauguration.
“Hearings on President-elect Biden’s nominees should begin in January immediately after the Georgia runoff elections,” Schumer said, referring to the two Jan. 5 Senate elections that will determine who controls the chamber.
BREAKING: Sen. Schumer says Senate should begin confirmation hearings for Biden’s Cabinet BEFORE inauguration:
“In the midst of this once-in-a-century crisis, it’s imperative the next administration can count on the Senate to confirm its cabinet without delay” pic.twitter.com/ZcFJXbwKSa
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 30, 2020
Starting the confirmation process before Inauguration Day would allow the Cabinet to receive confirmation votes on Jan. 20, “and soon thereafter, which is traditional for a new president,” Schumer explained.
It is not unusual for Cabinet confirmation hearings to begin before inauguration—the Senate held several hearings for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks before his inauguration—but this year is different because the election results are still being contested.
Trump has insisted he won the election and his campaign is still litigating its case in several states.
Just this week, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to disqualify more than 221,000 illegal ballots in the state’s two most Democratic counties. If the lawsuit is successful, Biden’s lead in the battleground state would be erased.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve election processes with uniform enforcement of the law, plain and simple,” Trump’s Wisconsin attorney, Jim Troupis, said in a statement.
“During the recount in Dane and Milwaukee counties, we know with absolute certainty illegal ballots have unduly influenced the state’s election results.”
However, Trump is running out of time to have his legal cases heard. The Electoral College is scheduled to meet on Dec. 14 and Congress is to count the votes on Jan. 6.
