In 25th year, Patty Murray has new role: Playing defense, fighting ‘swamp creatures’ | McClatchy Washington Bureau

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She also wants a second hearing for DeVos to examine a “massive web of investments” that she said have been hard to track.

Murray said that DeVos was “very ill-prepared and didn’t know basic questions about education” at the first hearing, leading Murray to question whether she’s equipped to advise the president. Democrats have submitted a list of more than 800 questions for DeVos to answer.

“We need somebody with knowledge. … Don’t we want somebody there that knows what they’re talking about?” Murray asked.

Murray’s strongest criticism has been aimed at Price, a longtime proponent of scrapping the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in 2010.

Addressing Price at his confirmation hearing, Murray said: “Your own proposals would cause millions of people to lose coverage, force many to pay more for their care, and leave people with pre-existing conditions vulnerable to insurance companies rejecting them or charging them more.”

Murray’s profile is rising as she climbs the seniority ladder on Capitol Hill. After the election, Senate Democrats elevated her to the No. 3 leadership post. And she now ranks ninth overall in seniority among the 100 senators.

“She really is our leader, leading us in this fight,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, regarded by many as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, said at a recent health-care event. “It’s a fight to protect what we stand for.”

Republican leaders say Murray and other prominent Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, are just trying to delay votes and force Trump to wait longer than President Barack Obama to get his Cabinet in place.

“There’s just simply no excuse for this. … This is simply attempting to litigate or relitigate the election,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told reporters this week. “Our Democratic friends need to get over the fact that this election is over.”

At a media briefing at the Capitol, GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said Democrats are “playing political games” but that the Republican-led Senate will ultimately prevail.

“The president won an election,” Thune said. “He deserves to get his people in place. … But they will get there eventually.”

Murray dismissed the criticism, noting that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wouldn’t even allow a hearing for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee last year. She said the new Congress has only been in session for three weeks and that Democrats want to make sure that the nominees are properly vetted.

“We are trying to get the questions answered,” Murray said.

The Senate so far has approved four of Trump’s nominees: United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo.

Murray voted for three of the four nominees, opposing Pompeo. She said the U.S. “must continue to work to strike the right balance between national security and civil liberties” and that Pompeo’s record “gave me serious pause.”

Murray said she has yet to decide how she’ll vote on Price, DeVos and Puzder, but added: “I am not impressed yet, I can put it that way.”

Murray’s not impressed with Trump, either, saying it was “difficult” to attend his inauguration last week.

At a news conference with other Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, she said Trump “is building an administration that looks a whole lot like himself,” one filled with “Wall Street bankers, billionaires, millionaires, friends, insiders, campaign contributors, and cronies.”

“He said he was going to drain the swamp,” Murray said. “But he seems to think the way to do that is by filling it with even bigger swamp creatures. … We’re going to stand up and fight for the families we represent.

Murray, who marched in Saturday’s Women’s March in Washington, D.C., an event that drew a half-million people, said Trump has reignited the women’s movement.

January 21, 2017