Elizabeth Warren rips Tom Price's explanation for his questionable stock purchases: 'Wink wink, nod nod, we're all supposed to believe that?'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went into the hearing for President-elect Donald Trump's health and human services nominee Wednesday with guns ablazing.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats raised a fuss about the fact that Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) bought between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of shares in medical device manufacturer Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. last March, CNN reported, and then just days later introduced legislation that would have stalled a regulation that could have hurt the company. Warren seized on that point: "I'm not asking you about what you supported, I'm just asking: Did you buy the stock and then did you introduce a bill that would be helpful to the companies you just bought stock in?"
"The stock was bought by a broker who was making those decisions, I wasn't making those decisions," Price explained.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After a short back and forth, Warren sought to clarify: "Let's just be clear … This is someone who buys stock at your direction. This is someone who buys and sells the stock you want them to buy and sell."
"That's not true, senator," Price said.
"Well, because you decide not to tell them?" Warren fired back. "Wink wink, nod nod? And we're all just supposed to believe that?"
Warren even got into a short spat with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the committee chairman, when he tried to tell her that her time was up. Watch the exchange below. Jeva Lange
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published