Susan Collins rejects Trump request to bypass confirmation hearings for nominees: report

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) indicated she would not go along with Donald Trump's demand to bypass confirmation hearings for his Cabinet nominees.

The Maine Republican called Wednesday for "extensive committee investigations" for the president-elect's health administration appointees and echoed concerns by other lawmakers that Trump would skip several steps in the vetting process by making recess appointments, reported Axios.

"[Recess appointments] avoid and evade the Senate's constitutional duty to do advice and consent," Collins told Axios. "That means a background check, it means extensive committee investigations and questionnaires and public hearings."

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Senate Republicans have already rejected a proposal by Trump's advisers to allow private investigators to perform background checks of nominees instead of the FBI, and Collins said the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) on which she serves would hold hearings on those nominees, who would then ultimately be confirmed by the Senate Finance Committee.

"Trump has tapped ex-Independent presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — an agency he could dramatically reshape," Axios reported. "He also selected TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Oz has no experience running a large government bureaucracy."

Collins said she hasn't taken a position on Kennedy's nomination as Health and Human Services secretary, but incoming HELP chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said he was looking forward to learning more about the nominee's views and praised Oz's appointment.

"You need to speak to the person who you're considering before you make up your mind," Cassidy said.