Underscoring Congress' foul mood, Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch said Democrats should be "ashamed" for staying away from his committee's meeting. Both challenged her support for public education, and their defections meant Vice President Mike Pence might need to break a tie in a Senate that Republicans control 52-48. Democrats boycotted today's abruptly called Finance Committee meeting, as they'd done for a session a day earlier. Democrats say Price had special access to low-priced shares in an Australian biomed firm, even though he testified the offer was available to all investors. At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Democrats boycotted a planned vote on Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's state attorney general in line to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 01, 2017 08:35 UTC