Trump Cabinet nominees meet growing ethical questions

Three of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks came under growing fire Wednesday on ethical issues, potentially jeopardizing their nominations.

 

The most serious concerns surround personal investments by Trump’s health and human services nominee, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), in health-care firms that benefited from legislation that he was pushing at the time.

 

Additionally, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Trump’s choice to head the Office of Management and Budget, has acknowledged during his confirmation process that he failed to pay more than $15,000 in state and federal employment taxes for a household employee.

 

And Commerce Department nominee Wilbur Ross revealed that one of the “dozen or so” housekeepers he has hired since 2009 was undocumented, which he said he discovered only recently. The employee was fired as a result, he added.

 

All of those are the kinds of problems that have torpedoed nominees in the past. But it is far from certain — or even likely — that any of Trump’s nominees will buckle under the political pressure.

 

 Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, acknowledes failing to pay more than $15,000 in state and federal employment taxes for a household employee. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

That is in part because the ­president-elect himself has broken so many norms — notably, by flouting the convention of major-party presidential candidates making their tax returns public and by refusing to sever himself from his financial interests while he is in the White House.

 

Critics say that Trump’s actions and those of his nominees suggest that an incoming administration that promised to “drain the swamp” of Washington has instead brought in a new, lower set of standards.

 

“This is a swamp Cabinet,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

 

Three of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks came under growing fire Wednesday on ethical issues, potentially jeopardizing their nominations.

 

The most serious concerns surround personal investments by Trump’s health and human services nominee, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), in health-care firms that benefited from legislation that he was pushing at the time.

 

Additionally, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Trump’s choice to head the Office of Management and Budget, has acknowledged during his confirmation process that he failed to pay more than $15,000 in state and federal employment taxes for a household employee.

 

And Commerce Department nominee Wilbur Ross revealed that one of the “dozen or so” housekeepers he has hired since 2009 was undocumented, which he said he discovered only recently. The employee was fired as a result, he added.

 

All of those are the kinds of problems that have torpedoed nominees in the past. But it is far from certain — or even likely — that any of Trump’s nominees will buckle under the political pressure.

 

 Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, acknowledes failing to pay more than $15,000 in state and federal employment taxes for a household employee. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

That is in part because the ­president-elect himself has broken so many norms — notably, by flouting the convention of major-party presidential candidates making their tax returns public and by refusing to sever himself from his financial interests while he is in the White House.

 

Critics say that Trump’s actions and those of his nominees suggest that an incoming administration that promised to “drain the swamp” of Washington has instead brought in a new, lower set of standards.

 

“This is a swamp Cabinet,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).