Washington In an effort to approve President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices as soon as possible after his inauguration on January 20, the Republican-controlled Senate is scheduled to hold more than a dozen hearings this week.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state, is one of the nominees that is expected to have an easy time getting confirmed. Other nominees, like former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a veteran of the military, for defense secretary, are facing obstacles and need the hearings to garner support.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told reporters last week that the confirmation hearings next week will be a bit of a train wreck. However, I’m happy that those are being completed, and the FBI background check would logically be a component of that procedure.
Hegseth, former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum for secretary of the interior, and former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Trump’s choice for secretary of veterans affairs, will begin the hearings Tuesday.
Rubio, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department; South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security; former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, who was chosen to lead the CIA; former Trump White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, who was tapped to fill the position again; former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., who was chosen to be secretary of transportation; and Chris Wright, an executive from the oil and gas industry, Trump’s choice for energy secretary, will all be on the hearing stage on Wednesday.
The hearings on Thursday will also feature Bondi’s second day of appearances before senators; Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York; former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, who was chosen to head the Environmental Protection Agency; hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, who is slated to head the Treasury Department; and former NFL player Eric Scott Turner, who was appointed secretary of housing and urban development.
In the coming days and weeks, more hearings will be planned.
The potential nominees will need 50 votes from the entire Senate to ensure confirmation if they are accepted by the Senate committees that oversee their departments. When he and Trump take office on January 20, vice president-elect JD Vance will be able to break a tie. Prior to the inauguration, Jim Justice, a Republican from West Virginia, is anticipated to take the oath of office. Republicans have lost a seat as a result of Vance’s resignation, but if Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine chooses a replacement, he can take office promptly. Three defections will be permitted before Democratic votes are required, giving the GOP 53 seats.
Democratic votes will go to some of the nominees. Rubio, Stefanik, and Duffy have received backing from Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.
Except for Dr. Oz, I believe I’ve met everyone. However, Fetterman mentioned Mehmet Oz, Trump’s choice to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, whom he defeated in the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race, and added, “I know Dr. Oz.” I’ve heard about him previously.
In addition to predicting that Rubio, his fellow Republican senator, will not face a hostile hearing, Cornyn stated that he fully supports him.
Cornyn stated, “I believe that will be the most intimate and romantic hearing of all the confirmation hearings.” Regarding the others, I am unable to tell that.
Democrats are fiercely opposing others, cautioning Republicans against confirming candidates too quickly before their FBI background checks are cleared and the Senate has had a chance to thoroughly examine them. In order to kill some of the nominations, Democrats will try to exert pressure on Republican senators.
Hegseth has been battling claims of excessive drinking, sexual assault, and financial mismanagement of a charity organization that supports veterans.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a sexual assault survivor and member of the Armed Services Committee, which will review Hegseth’s nomination, was among the Republicans who were first unsure about their support for the candidate. Ernst has since issued a statement stating that she will support Pete through this process and looks forward to a fair hearing based on the truth, not unnamed sources, even if she hasn’t stated whether she intends to vote for him.
Trump supporters have urged Ernst, who is running for reelection in 2026, to support him.
Following their meeting last week, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, also expressed concerns about Hegseth’s capacity to manage the Defense Department. Late Friday, Reed and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the committee’s chair, were given Hegseth’s FBI background check.
In addition to Hegseth, a number of other Trump appointments have encountered bipartisan skepticism from senators, such as former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary and Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who is now a Republican, to be the director of national intelligence. Kennedy and Gabbard’s hearings have not yet been set.
Concerns have been raised over Gabbard’s previous interactions with foreign enemies, such as former Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad. During her time in the House of Representatives, she worked to undermine a crucial information gathering authority, but she lately changed her mind.
If confirmed, Gabbard said in an NBC News statement that she would seek to enforce Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Act, an intelligence gathering tool passed by Congress after 9/11 that permits the government to target foreign nationals living outside the United States without obtaining a warrant.
Democrats aren’t persuaded yet. According to a person familiar with the situation, Gabbard was conspicuously ambivalent about her position on the national security tool during her discussion with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.
The change coincides with Senate Republicans’ efforts to schedule Gabbard’s confirmation hearing before to Trump’s inauguration. A source familiar with the situation told NBC News that although Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., promised to hold the hearing before January 20, the committee had not to receive her FBI background check and Office of Government Ethics documents as of Friday.
As of Friday, important documents that members usually obtain in advance were also absent from Senate committees scheduled to hear testimony from Burgum and Wright. Despite protests from Senate Energy Committee Democrats, Burgum’s and Wright’s hearings are still scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hearings for Bondi, the candidate for attorney general, will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. After former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s bid for the top job failed, Senate Judiciary Republicans have shown greater interest in the former Florida attorney general, who was Trump’s personal attorney during his first impeachment hearing.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, charged that his Republican colleagues hurried through the president-elect’s selections without conducting adequate due diligence.
Americans must wonder what Republicans are trying to conceal when they push nominees, such as the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, before senators have even been given background reports or other basic information. Last week, Schumer remarked on the Senate floor.