Wyden threatens to hold nominees over Trump tax return defiance [View all]
Source: Politico
By BERNIE BECKER 05/30/2019 01:06 PM EDT
Sen. Ron Wyden threatened on Thursday to put a hold on Treasury Department nominees unless the administration offers fuller answers about congressional efforts to obtain President Donald Trumps tax returns.
Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, had pressed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a letter this month about the administrations handling of House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neals request for Trumps returns. He said Thursday that the departments response which came not from Mnuchin, but from Justin Sok of Treasurys legislative affairs office was unresponsive and wholly unacceptable.
If the Treasury Department refuses to answer our questions, I am prepared to again place a hold on department nominees as I did previously when routine requests for information went unanswered, the Oregon Democrat added. Congress needs to take action to force the administration to comply with oversight.
Wyden had already said last week that Brent McIntosh, Treasurys general counsel and Trumps nominee to be Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, needs to be prepared to thoroughly answer questions about his role in the departments refusal to comply with Neals request and a subsequent subpoena if he wanted the position.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/wyden-threatens-nominee-holds-over-tax-return-response-1489740