Call volume overwhelmes Senate switchboard

Many of the calls relate to upcoming Senate votes on Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees.

Callers overloaded the Senate phone system this afternoon as the Senate approaches votes on a handful of President Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet nominees.

At around 3 p.m., staff for Sen. Sherrod Brown posted a notice on his Senate website: “Due to extremely high call volume, Washington, D.C., Senate offices are experiencing technical difficulties with phone and voicemail systems.”

The notice urged callers to contact Brown via an online form or, with emergencies such as immigration issues, veterans health care or social security checks, to send an email to Emergency_Casework@brown.senate.gov.

The office of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, reportedly also was experiencing problems, according to callers who tried to reach the office Wednesday.

“We have received a higher than normal amount of calls but that’s to be expected when the Senate is considering a new administration’s Cabinet nominees,” said a Portman spokeswoman.

A Brown spokeswoman said many of the calls were related to a vote on Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for education secretary. Two Republican senators — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — announced late this afternoon that they would not support DeVos, putting her nomination in jeopardy. The Senate is also nearing votes on Jeff Sessions, Trump’s choice for attorney general; Tom Price, the nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services; and Steven Mnuchin, his selection for Treasury secretary.

Michelle Mood, a Kenyon College professor with two autistic sons, tried to call Portman two weeks ago because of concerns she had about Sessions. She said she had a long talk with a staffer, who listened to her concerns. Then, five or six business days later, she tried calling again, this time about DeVos. She tried all of Portman’s offices, in both Ohio and Washington, D.C., but kept getting voicemail. Finally, she managed to get through — four hours later — to a staffer. She had less trouble reaching a staffer in Brown’s office.

Ohio’s Democratic congressional delegation has unanimously opposed DeVos, a Michigan businesswoman and philanthropist, and have called for her to pay $5.3 million fines and late fees her political action committee owes to the state of Ohio.

The Ohio Elections Commission ruled in 2008 that All Children Matter, a PAC directed by DeVos, violated state law by funneling $870,000 in contributions from its Virginia PAC to its unregistered PAC in Ohio. On Monday, the four Democrats in Ohio’s U.S. House delegation reiterated their call for her to pay the fines before being confirmed.

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