That all-male hearing on birth control access over at the House Oversight Committee provoked Democratic women on the committee to walk out of the hearing room.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee complained loudly about the Republican majority’s refusal to allow minority witnesses at a hearing on the Administration’s birth control access rules. The panel, which is happening live right now, was announced by Chairman Darrell Issa with the participation of nine panelists, all of whom oppose the new rules, including a member of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In their ongoing quest to make themselves look completely retrograde and ridiculous, House Republicans will hold a grandstanding hearing on the Administration’s birth control access rules tomorrow, featuring testimony from a leader of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and other opponents.

Peter Haller, a former Goldman Sachs VP now working for Darrell Issa on the House Oversight Committee and advocating for the interests of the banks changed his name shortly before moving to work for the Oversight Committee. Now we learn he was involved in the weak attempt by Patrick McHenry to embarrass Elizabeth Warren at a recent hearing.

A separate article in the Wall Street Journal said the short list was narrowed to Raj Date, Richard Cordray and Jennifer Granholm. But Granholm already turned down the job, saying Warren deserved it, and she doesn’t work at CFPB. So it’s probably down to Cordray and Date, and in all honesty, I’m fairly sure Date will be nominated. The fact that nobody would leapfrog Warren and take the job was working to constrain the Administration’s options for a time, but once Date expressed willingness, Warren couldn’t very well say no to someone she hired.

When Darrell Issa took over the House Oversight Committee, Democrats were nervous that he would use it as a launching pad to pummel the White House with frivolous investigations. It hasn’t really worked out that way. And now, he’s covering investigations up.

Darrell Issa is trying to stop House Oversight Committee Democrats from calling minority witnesses for hearings, and if successful this could become a more widespread Congressional practice.

Cummings previously requested these documents from Issa, but Issa plans to withhold them until a public release and analysis next Friday. So Cummings is going right to the source.

The House Oversight Committee held its first hearing since Darrell Issa got the gavel today, and it’s on TARP and foreclosures. And that bifurcation is accurate – the Republicans on the panel, for the most part, are asking about TARP, and the Democrats are asking about foreclosures.

Tim Geithner won’t show up to House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa’s first hearing, on TARP and the foreclosure crisis, sending a top deputy instead. The deputy, Tim Massad, has no real experience with the Administration’s foreclosure mitigation programs. Maybe Geithner didn’t want to testify on foreclosures because he didn’t have anything to say beyond “Everything’s great!”