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| Price, Pruit on Defensive from Democrats in Hearings | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Right Now: Four hearings for President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet nominees are underway in Washington, including two of the most contentious choices. | |
| ■ Representative Tom Price of Georgia, the nominee for health and human services secretary, will talk about how he thinks regulation hurts the system. | ■ Representative Tom Price of Georgia, the nominee for health and human services secretary, will talk about how he thinks regulation hurts the system. |
| ■ Scott Pruitt, Mr. Trump’s selection to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will discuss his philosophy of putting states first on regulatory matters. | ■ Scott Pruitt, Mr. Trump’s selection to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will discuss his philosophy of putting states first on regulatory matters. |
| ■ Wilbur Ross, the nominee for commerce secretary, echoed Mr. Trump’s line that China is protectionist on trade. | |
| Mr. Price was prepared for a contentious confirmation hearing, with an earthy life story, and a conservative rationale for his views on health care. | Mr. Price was prepared for a contentious confirmation hearing, with an earthy life story, and a conservative rationale for his views on health care. |
| The 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon from the affluent northern suburbs of Atlanta said he had been interested in medicine from an early age. His father and his paternal grandfather were also physicians, and he said he had made house calls with his grandfather to see patients. | The 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon from the affluent northern suburbs of Atlanta said he had been interested in medicine from an early age. His father and his paternal grandfather were also physicians, and he said he had made house calls with his grandfather to see patients. |
| In remarks prepared for the committee hearing, Mr. Price explained how he became concerned about the burden imposed on doctors by insurance companies and federal regulators. | In remarks prepared for the committee hearing, Mr. Price explained how he became concerned about the burden imposed on doctors by insurance companies and federal regulators. |
| “I noticed that there were more individuals within our office who were dealing with paperwork, insurance filings and government regulations than there were individuals actually seeing and treating patients,” Mr. Price said. “It was in those moments that it became crystal clear that our health care system was losing focus on the No. 1 priority – the individual patient.” | “I noticed that there were more individuals within our office who were dealing with paperwork, insurance filings and government regulations than there were individuals actually seeing and treating patients,” Mr. Price said. “It was in those moments that it became crystal clear that our health care system was losing focus on the No. 1 priority – the individual patient.” |
| Mr. Price said he was qualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services because of his experience as a doctor and a legislator. He practiced surgery for about 20 years, served in the Georgia State Senate from 1997 through 2004 and since 2005 has been a member of Congress, serving most recently as chairman of the House Budget Committee. | Mr. Price said he was qualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services because of his experience as a doctor and a legislator. He practiced surgery for about 20 years, served in the Georgia State Senate from 1997 through 2004 and since 2005 has been a member of Congress, serving most recently as chairman of the House Budget Committee. |
| Mr. Price is a top critic of the Affordable Care Act and a proponent of overhauling the Medicare system, Mr. Price has seen his nomination consumed recently by several damaging news reports. | Mr. Price is a top critic of the Affordable Care Act and a proponent of overhauling the Medicare system, Mr. Price has seen his nomination consumed recently by several damaging news reports. |
| (Among them: a Wall Street Journal article reporting that Mr. Price traded more than $300,000 in health care stocks over four years while advocating or sponsoring legislation that could have increased their value, and a CNN report that he purchased shares in a medical device company shortly before introducing legislation to delay regulations that could have significantly harmed the company.) | (Among them: a Wall Street Journal article reporting that Mr. Price traded more than $300,000 in health care stocks over four years while advocating or sponsoring legislation that could have increased their value, and a CNN report that he purchased shares in a medical device company shortly before introducing legislation to delay regulations that could have significantly harmed the company.) |
| Mr. Price, like other candidates for cabinet jobs in the Trump administration, will be subject to confirmation by the full Senate. | Mr. Price, like other candidates for cabinet jobs in the Trump administration, will be subject to confirmation by the full Senate. |
| The hearing on Wednesday is being held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, headed by Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. But that panel does not vote on the nomination. You can watch the confirmation hearing for Scott Pruitt, Mr. Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, live here, at the website for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. | The hearing on Wednesday is being held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, headed by Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. But that panel does not vote on the nomination. You can watch the confirmation hearing for Scott Pruitt, Mr. Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, live here, at the website for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. |
| Another hearing for Mr. Price has been scheduled for Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on whether to recommend confirmation. The two committees share authority over issues for which the Health and Human Services Department is responsible. | Another hearing for Mr. Price has been scheduled for Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on whether to recommend confirmation. The two committees share authority over issues for which the Health and Human Services Department is responsible. |
| Taking a swipe at what he sees as overzealous government regulation, Mr. Pruitt said his “first and primary goal” as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency would be “to return the agency to that core mission of protecting the American people through common sense and lawful regulations.” | |
| In Oklahoma, he said, he acted on behalf of “hardworking Americans who want to do the right thing by the environment,” including farmers, ranchers, landowners and small-business owners. “But recently they have felt hopeless, subject to a never-ending torrent of new regulations that only a lawyer can understand. They fear the E.P.A., and that just shouldn’t be the case. If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the E.P.A. acts lawfully, sensibly and with those hardworking Americans ever in mind.” | |
| Outside the Senate hearing room, environmental protesters were lined up around the corner, preparing to demonstrate. Groups like the Sierra Club, the Moms Clean Air Task Force, and 350.org, which led the protests against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, were also planning street protests outside the Senate building. | Outside the Senate hearing room, environmental protesters were lined up around the corner, preparing to demonstrate. Groups like the Sierra Club, the Moms Clean Air Task Force, and 350.org, which led the protests against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, were also planning street protests outside the Senate building. |
| One of the elements of Mr. Pruitt’s record that has drawn the most criticism: his handling of a 2005 pollution case brought by his predecessor against about a dozen Oklahoma and Arizona poultry farms that had fouled the waters of Oklahoma’s Illinois River watershed with runoff from the animals’ manure. | One of the elements of Mr. Pruitt’s record that has drawn the most criticism: his handling of a 2005 pollution case brought by his predecessor against about a dozen Oklahoma and Arizona poultry farms that had fouled the waters of Oklahoma’s Illinois River watershed with runoff from the animals’ manure. |
| After executives of those chicken companies donated tens of thousands of dollars to Mr. Pruitt’s 2010 campaign for Oklahoma attorney general, Mr. Pruitt put the brakes on the lawsuit, instead reaching a settlement — which has since expired — that simply required a study of the river’s pollution, with no penalties for the polluting companies. | After executives of those chicken companies donated tens of thousands of dollars to Mr. Pruitt’s 2010 campaign for Oklahoma attorney general, Mr. Pruitt put the brakes on the lawsuit, instead reaching a settlement — which has since expired — that simply required a study of the river’s pollution, with no penalties for the polluting companies. |
| Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, the nominee to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations, was the subject of rather mild questioning, even from Democrats. | |
| “I am concerned with your lack of foreign policy experience,” said Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. But he then praised Ms. Haley for leading the fight to take down a Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina statehouse property. This seemed to signal: We will be tough on you, but maybe not that tough. | |
| Ms. Haley introduced her family, including her brothers and parents and husband, “the coolest first man ever” and one of her children as well as her in-laws. She told her friends, “if I started to mess up, act like a protester,” drawing laughs. So far, none here. This is a mellow hearing. | |
| “My story is an American story,” she said, recalling her parents’ immigrant history from India. “We were not white enough to be white, we were not black enough to be black. My father wore a turban, my mother wore a sari,” she noted. | |
| Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor who is Mr. Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, kicked off his confirmation hearing by taking a tough stance on China. He described the country as protectionist, with high barriers to trade. | |
| “They talk much more about free trade than they actually practice,” he said. “We would like to levelize that playing field and bring the reality closer to the rhetoric.” | |
| Mr. Ross’s stance echoed Mr. Trump’s own hard-line approach. The president-elect rankled many by accepting a congratulatory phone call from the president of Taiwan, challenging the long-acknowledged One China principle and heightening tensions with the country before he even takes office. | |
| A bicameral boycott? | |
| It has become the question du jour for every Democrat on Capitol Hill: Will you join the growing boycott of Mr. Trump’s inauguration? | It has become the question du jour for every Democrat on Capitol Hill: Will you join the growing boycott of Mr. Trump’s inauguration? |
| The list of House Democrats skipping the event has ballooned to more than 50 since Mr. Trump lashed out at Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, the civil rights icon who had questioned the legitimacy of Mr. Trump’s victory. | The list of House Democrats skipping the event has ballooned to more than 50 since Mr. Trump lashed out at Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, the civil rights icon who had questioned the legitimacy of Mr. Trump’s victory. |
| So far, most of the boycotters come from districts that decisively favored Hillary Clinton. What bears watching now is whether any Senate Democrats will see it fit to join. | So far, most of the boycotters come from districts that decisively favored Hillary Clinton. What bears watching now is whether any Senate Democrats will see it fit to join. |
| Two weeks ago, senators seemed to offer a preview. At a joint session of Congress to validate the Electoral College results, several House Democrats sought to object to Mr. Trump’s election, citing claims of voter suppression and Russian interference in the process, among other issues. But the members were permitted to make only formal, written objections if a senator joined the effort as well. None did. | Two weeks ago, senators seemed to offer a preview. At a joint session of Congress to validate the Electoral College results, several House Democrats sought to object to Mr. Trump’s election, citing claims of voter suppression and Russian interference in the process, among other issues. But the members were permitted to make only formal, written objections if a senator joined the effort as well. None did. |