When The Huffington Post asked [Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe] on Monday night if this same standard of disclosing foreign payments should apply to Trump’s Cabinet nominees, he said it shouldn’t.”So it’s different now because it’s Trump?” we asked.”That’s just right,” Inhofe said.”That’s right?” we asked to clarify.”Yeah,” he said.
The disclosure question arose because Inhofe signed onto a 2013 letter demanding “unprecedented disclosures” from former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), at the time Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, because Senate Republicans were concerned about “the potential for foreign conflicts of interest.”Inhofe seems to have no comparable concerns now — because it’s “different.”The Oklahoma Republican’s spokesperson tried to walk back the comments soon after, telling the Huffington Post that Inhofe doesn’t support “a double standard,” even though he’d just said the exact opposite.This appears to be one of those classic moments in which a politician makes a mistake by accidentally saying what he genuinely believes.As for the schedule of confirmation hearings, there were a couple of changes overnight. Here’s what to expect over the next few days:Attorney General: Jeff Sessions — Jan. 10-11Homeland Security: John Kelly — Jan. 10-11State: Rex Tillerson — Jan 11 (may go into Jan 12)Transportation: Elaine Chao — Jan. 11CIA: Mike Pompeo — Jan. 12Labor: Andrew Puzder — Jan. 12Defense: James Mattis — Jan. 12HUD: Ben Carson — Jan. 12Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and GOP megadonor, is Trump’s choice to become Secretary of Education, but the complexity of her finances has led to a delay in her upcoming hearing.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."