Coburn leads GOP hearing boycott
By Staff Reports on Jul 25, 2013, at 11:59 AM
National Politics
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the Texas NAACP filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn the state's Voter ID law, joining the Justice Department in fighting the law.
Implacable Republican opposition to Obamacare has Congress once more veering closer to gridlock.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn led a Republican boycott of a confirmation hearing for the Obama administration's controversial nominee for the No. 2 spot in the Department of Homeland Security.
As the top Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, Coburn said in a statement to be read into the record that it would be unfair to the committee and to the nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas, for the hearing to continue as scheduled while Mayorkas is under investigation by the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
"Holding this hearing in light of an active investigation into serious, relevant allegations of professional misconduct by the nominee, and over the objections of the ranking member and others, appears to be virtually without precedent in the history of this or any other Senate committee," said Coburn.
According to news reports, which Coburn said he has confirmed, Mayorkas is being investigated for his role, as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in obtaining foreign investors' visas for a company with ties to the brother of Hilary Clinton and to Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for mayor of Virginia.
According to news reports, the visas in question were issued under a program for non-citizens investing $500,000 to $1 million in U.S. businesses.
National Politics
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the Texas NAACP filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn the state's Voter ID law, joining the Justice Department in fighting the law.
Implacable Republican opposition to Obamacare has Congress once more veering closer to gridlock.
