Senate committees will begin to hold hearings this week on 13 cabinet nominees selected by President-elect Donald Trump.
Senate Republican leadership is tasked with helping Trump fast-track all 13 nominees out of committee for a full floor Senate vote.Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) promised Trump that he would work hard to sidestep any roadblocks Democrats present, even if that means forcing senators to work Fridays.
“All it takes is one Democrat to refuse to consent to fast-tracking any of these nominees, meaning Senate Majority Leader John Thune would have to burn a few days of floor time to confirm each one,” Punchbowl News reported Monday.
The committee hearings will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, featuring Trump’s 13 highest priority selections to run key aspects of the government.
Tuesday:
- Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs
- Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense
- Doug Burgum, Interior Department
Wednesday:
- Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Department
- Pam Bondi, Justice Department
- Sean Duffy, Transportation Department
- John Ratcliffe, CIA
- Marco Rubio, State Department
- Chris Wright, Energy Department
- Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget
Thursday:
- Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Department
- Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency
- Pam Bondi, Day two before the Senate Judiciary Committee
- Scott Bessent, Treasury Department
Punchbowl News reported on the scheduled hearings:
Must-see TV: The main event will be Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday morning. Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, has faced allegations of sexual and financial misconduct, as well as doubt over his qualifications for the role.
…
Senate Republicans want Trump’s national security nominees to be confirmed on day one — or close to it — but Democrats are determined to expose what they see as an unfit nominee in Hegseth. It’s virtually guaranteed that Democrats won’t agree to fast-track Hegseth’s nomination on the floor, even if it’s clear he’d have the requisite votes to be confirmed.
….
Another nominee whose hearing could get testy is Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general. Bondi will sit before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and Thursday. Bondi will face questions about her independence from Trump given her previous representation of the incoming president during his first impeachment trial.
Punchbowl News this AM: Pete Hegseth’s FBI background check is “unremarkable.” All of the Dems’ hopes and dreams crushed with one word. pic.twitter.com/4tEH1mDHu6
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) January 13, 2025
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
