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WASHINGTON, D.C. — On a busy day of Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, six nominees appeared before committees, including two before freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
Still in his first days in office, Moreno said he would work to quickly approve all of Trump’s nominees, even the most contentious.
That includes support for Russell Vought, nominated to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Vought held the same position during Trump’s first term in the White House.
Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Vought faced harsh criticism from Democrats for helping to write the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 political initiative.
Moreno’s questions for Vought were instead softballs intended to emphasize his qualifications for the job.
Moreno also questioned Sean Duffy, picked to lead the Department of Transportation. Duffy previously served five terms as a House Representative for Wisconsin and later became an on-air host at FOX News.
“This should be very bipartisan at the end of the day,” Moreno said before Duffy’s hearing.
During his questioning of Duffy, Moreno focused on automotive issues, drawing on his own experience running an empire of luxury car dealerships. The two men agreed that the government should repeal incentives to buy electric vehicles.
“I couldn’t agree with you more that we shouldn’t be forced to buy cars that Washington wants,” Duffy said. “We should be able to buy the cars that we want. And I think there’s room in this space for electric vehicles and gas-powered vehicles.”
Duffy said if confirmed, he would champion railway safety, an issue thrust into the spotlight by the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Moreno said he would support introducing legislation similar to the Railway Safety Act, which Vice President-elect JD Vance and former Sen. Sherrod Brown co-sponsored last Congress.
“We’re going to work on something that we can get passed,” Moreno said. “Obviously, it was important to JD. His priorities are our priorities, so we’re going to make sure to make that happen.”
Moreno will also hear testimony from a more controversial cabinet pick, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security. That hearing was initially scheduled for Wednesday but postponed until Friday.
