In 25th year, Patty Murray has new role: Playing defense, fighting ‘swamp creatures’ | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Sen. Patty Murray had big hopes for her 25th year as a senator. None of them involved playing defense.

The Washington state Democrat thought her friend and former colleague, Hillary Clinton, would be president. And she figured she’d be in perfect position to help increase the minimum wage, improve health care, make college more affordable and pass bills mandating family and sick leave.

Instead, Murray has had a busy January battling a collection of billionaires and big “swamp creatures.” That’s how the former pre-school teacher describes most of the Cabinet nominees appointed by GOP President Donald Trump.

“Obviously, I was disappointed in the (election) results because I now do not have a partner in the White House that shares the same goals,” Murray said in an interview. “So the role has shifted.”

It has been a high-profile role for Murray, 66, who won a fifth term in a landslide in November after raising $13 million for her race.

As the top Democrat on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, she’s received plenty of national attention for leading the opposition against three of Trump’s most controversial nominees: his picks to lead the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor.

So far, Murray has taken center stage in grilling Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price, Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, and Michigan philanthropist and GOP donor Betsy DeVos to run the Department of Education.

And next she’ll turn her sights on fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, who’s set to appear before the committee on Thursday.

Murray said that she wants to hear from employees who worked for Puzder, the head of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns Hardee’s. She said he has built a record that “would make the challenges working families face today even worse,” noting his opposition to increasing the minimum wage and granting workers greater access to paid sick leave.

“He is going to have to explain in detail his vision to protect and to expand opportunities for workers,” Murray said.

She also wants a second hearing for DeVos to examine a “massive web of investments” that she said have been hard to track.

Murray said that DeVos was “very ill-prepared and didn’t know basic questions about education” at the first hearing, leading Murray to question whether she’s equipped to advise the president. Democrats have submitted a list of more than 800 questions for DeVos to answer.

“We need somebody with knowledge. … Don’t we want somebody there that knows what they’re talking about?” Murray asked.

Murray’s strongest criticism has been aimed at Price, a longtime proponent of scrapping the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in 2010.

Addressing Price at his confirmation hearing, Murray said: “Your own proposals would cause millions of people to lose coverage, force many to pay more for their care, and leave people with pre-existing conditions vulnerable to insurance companies rejecting them or charging them more.”

Murray’s profile is rising as she climbs the seniority ladder on Capitol Hill. After the election, Senate Democrats elevated her to the No. 3 leadership post. And she now ranks ninth overall in seniority among the 100 senators.

“She really is our leader, leading us in this fight,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, regarded by many as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, said at a recent health-care event. “It’s a fight to protect what we stand for.”

Republican leaders say Murray and other prominent Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, are just trying to delay votes and force Trump to wait longer than President Barack Obama to get his Cabinet in place.

“There’s just simply no excuse for this. … This is simply attempting to litigate or relitigate the election,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told reporters this week. “Our Democratic friends need to get over the fact that this election is over.”

At a media briefing at the Capitol, GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said Democrats are “playing political games” but that the Republican-led Senate will ultimately prevail.

“The president won an election,” Thune said. “He deserves to get his people in place. … But they will get there eventually.”

Murray dismissed the criticism, noting that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wouldn’t even allow a hearing for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee last year. She said the new Congress has only been in session for three weeks and that Democrats want to make sure that the nominees are properly vetted.

“We are trying to get the questions answered,” Murray said.

The Senate so far has approved four of Trump’s nominees: United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo.

Murray voted for three of the four nominees, opposing Pompeo. She said the U.S. “must continue to work to strike the right balance between national security and civil liberties” and that Pompeo’s record “gave me serious pause.”

Murray said she has yet to decide how she’ll vote on Price, DeVos and Puzder, but added: “I am not impressed yet, I can put it that way.”

Murray’s not impressed with Trump, either, saying it was “difficult” to attend his inauguration last week.

At a news conference with other Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, she said Trump “is building an administration that looks a whole lot like himself,” one filled with “Wall Street bankers, billionaires, millionaires, friends, insiders, campaign contributors, and cronies.”

“He said he was going to drain the swamp,” Murray said. “But he seems to think the way to do that is by filling it with even bigger swamp creatures. … We’re going to stand up and fight for the families we represent.

Murray, who marched in Saturday’s Women’s March in Washington, D.C., an event that drew a half-million people, said Trump has reignited the women’s movement.

In the interview, Murray said she was “absolutely disgusted” when the Washington Post in October released a video that showed Trump boasting years ago that, as a star, he could “do anything” to women, even “grab them by the pussy.”

“In fact, to this day I cannot believe that people didn’t take to heart what message that was sending to young girls everywhere,” Murray said. “It’s embarrassing. It’s horrible. And it’s not what we want.”

But she said Trump has made it clear where he stands on women’s issues by trying to get rid of Obamacare and funding for Planned Parenthood and by reinstating a ban on federal funding for international health groups that provide counseling to women on family planning issues, including abortion.

“It just feels like this is an agenda where we are faced with an onslaught from a man who said clearly that he could do whatever he wanted to with women,” Murray said. “Well, his agenda appears to be doing that, and I am very offended by that.”

Lesley Clark contributed to this report.