Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is suddenly concerned about conflicts of interest, apparently. Throughout all four years of the Trump administration, Democrats inside and outside of government have been sounding an alarm about the rampant conflicts of interest all across the Trump administration, including those ensnaring the president himself, who’s done business across the globe and refused to release his tax returns. Trump’s business ventures even took him to Moscow, where his company once sought (unsuccessfully) to construct a Trump Tower. Now, on the subject of President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees, Cornyn is concerned about transparency. HA!
The staggering level of hypocrisy seems bonkers. Where was this Republican outrage during the four years in which Trump literally profited off the presidency when he repeatedly took his government entourage to one of his company’s properties? Where was this Republican outrage when political interests wined and dined at Trump properties, providing them with a clear inroad for gaining some kind of good favor with the president? In the absence of systematic Republican concern about those very well-documented Trumpian issues — and plenty of others — why on earth would Cornyn expect non-GOP members of the general public to take his sudden concern for transparency seriously?
This week in the Senate, Cornyn said, in part, as follows:
‘As America waits for the results of the 2020 election to be certified in a couple weeks, former vice president Joe Biden has begun to announce his picks for Cabinet and other high-ranking positions. Some of these nominees have close ties to investment and other consulting firms whose clients are largely unknown or maybe even the subject of a nondisclosure agreement. The truth is: these individuals could be working on behalf of a feel-good non-profit, a malicious foreign actor, or a large company with business before the government. The truth is we have simply no idea what kind of business or financial relationships these individuals have with foreign powers that can influence their actions as high-ranking government officials… It’s a conflict of interest issue.’
Cornyn’s sudden concern with potential nondisclosure agreements — which Donald Trump himself has repeatedly relied on! — is simply laughably hypocritical to a staggering degree. Watch his comments below:
Cornyn: "Biden has begun to announce his picks for Cabinet & other high-ranking positions… We have simply no idea what kind of business or financial relationships these individuals have with foreign powers that can influence their actions as high-ranking government officials." pic.twitter.com/f9MzRO6Dzp
— The Hill (@thehill) December 1, 2020
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who’s slated to chair the Senate Budget Committee in the next Congress if Republicans retain their majority, has already suggested that one of Biden’s key picks, Neera Tanden, might not even get a committee vote on her nomination to lead the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. In other words, the Republican commitment to obstruction is not apparently letting up.
