Senator Al Franken Calls For Further Investigation Of Trump Administration Nominee

Minnesota Senator Al Franken said that allegations that Congressman Tom Price participated in ‘questionable’ stock trading while in office should be investigated prior to a nomination hearing, according to a press release. Congressman Price is a candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Trump administration.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) joined the Minnesota Senator in calling for the delay. All three are members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is currently scheduled to host the hearing tomorrow morning.

Reports that Congressman Price traded more than $300,000 in shares of health companies, while simultaneously sponsoring and advocating for legislation that could potentially affect those companies’ stock, recently surfaced. These concerns were detailed in a letter sent to the HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) to delay the hearing.

“Allowing Congressman Price’s nomination to move to a hearing with questions about his ethical qualifications left unanswered would send an early, clear, and deeply troubling signal that the Senate’s critical oversight functions will be given a back seat to the demands of the Trump Administration,” wrote the Senators in the letter.

“Families across the country—those who voted for the incoming Administration and those who did not—voted for a government that works to advance their needs, not those of its highest-ranking officials,” the Senators added. “We urge you to listen to them, by committing to postpone Congressman Price’s hearing until these ethics issues are fully investigated and addressed.”

Over the weekend, Sens. Franken, Warren, and Baldwin sent Congressman Price a list of questions they want answered about his questionable stock trading, which you can read here.