Democrats’ strategy to snarl nominations: Demand more information

Left without the power to filibuster, Democrats are settling on another strategy to derail President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees: Demand more information.

It’s the same tactic that helped Democrats sink some nominees the last time they were in the minority, during the George W. Bush administration. But they may have dented their own cause by powering through President Obama’s picks and drawing a road map that Republicans will now employ to confirm Mr. Trump’s nominations.

The first target for the strategy is Rep. Tom Price, the anti-Obamacare crusader whom Mr. Trump tapped to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Senate Democrats demanded Thursday that Mr. Price’s nomination be put on hold until after Congress investigates his stock trades involving health care companies, even as he worked on health care policy on Capitol Hill.

An investigation could take months, but Democrats said it is needed if lawmakers are to have confidence in their votes.

In Mr. Price’s case, the Trump transition team said he took the same actions as many other members of Congress.

“The same questions being raised today by Sen. Schumer about Dr. Price should be directed to Sens. [Thomas R.] Carper, [Mark R.] Warner and [Sheldon] Whitehouse, who own and have traded hundreds of thousands of dollars in pharmaceutical and health insurance company stocks,” said Phil Blando, a transition spokesman.

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