The two top Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday told Republicans they want President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet picks to hand over all of their communications with Boris Epshteyn, Mr. Trump’s top legal adviser, amid allegations that he sought money in exchange for promoting potential nominees.
Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the panel’s chairman, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the chairman of its oversight subcommittee, said they want the material because of public reports that Mr. Epshteyn has been “accused of running a pay-to-play scheme involving potential presidential appointments.”
“All nominees appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately act to retain all communications with Mr. Epshteyn, provide those materials to the committee well in advance of their hearing date and be prepared to testify regarding any discussions with Mr. Epshteyn about receiving a potential appointment in the incoming administration,” they wrote.
The letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, was addressed to the top two Republicans on the committee, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the ranking member, and Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who is in line to lead the panel in January.
lgo4d slotMr. Whitehouse and Mr. Durbin said they had no comment about their plans beyond what was stated in their letter.
Their move comes as Senate Republicans are under pressure to simply give a green light to even Mr. Trump’s most contentious cabinet picks once the new Senate is sworn in. It reflects how Democrats who control the Senate but have only weeks left before Republicans take over are rushing to use their power in the waning days of the current Congress to investigate and push back on the incoming Trump administration. As long as they retain their committee gavels, they can still try to obtain documents and communications.
Among national universities, Princeton was ranked No. 1 again, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Stanford, which tied for third last year, fell to No. 4. U.S. News again judged Williams College the best among national liberal arts colleges. Spelman College was declared the country’s top historically Black institution.
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