THE HOWLING: Scott Pruitt, Trump’s E.P.A. Pick, Is Approved by Senate Committee.

A day after Democrats on the Senate environment committee boycotted a planned vote on Mr. Pruitt’s nomination, the panel’s Republicans reconvened on Thursday and temporarily suspended the committee’s rules, which require the presence of at least two Democrats to hold votes, and approved Mr. Pruitt.

The Democrats’ boycott and the Republican response followed the same pattern that played out this week on the Senate Finance Committee, as Democrats sought to block action on the nominations of Representative Tom Price of Georgia to head the Department of Health and Human Services, and of the financier Steven T. Mnuchin to lead the Treasury Department.

Tip for Democrat Senators: When you’ve made Orrin Hatch willing to suspend his beloved rules, you might need to rethink a few things.