Newly-minted Senate Republican leaders are scheduling hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20.
Some of the nominees, like Pam Bondi, the pick for U.S. attorney general, are expected to breeze through the hearings. But others, like Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead Defense, face an uphill battle. Here’s a glimpse of what to expect in the coming week.
Hegseth, the nominee for Defense secretary, is slated to appear before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning.
As The Hill reported, Democrats from the Senate Armed Services panel are not convinced Hegseth can manage the Pentagon’s sprawling budget, given the allegations against him for mismanaging the funds of two veteran nonprofits he led. He also faces allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse. Hegseth is more vulnerable than other Trump picks.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, originally scheduled Gov. Doug Burgum’s nomination hearing for Tuesday at 10 a.m.
But Burgum, Trump’s pick for Interior secretary, was met with resistance from the panel’s top Democrats. In a letter to Lee Monday, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., the committee’s ranking member, and seven others wrote that the panel didn’t receive the financial disclosure report and the Office of Government Ethics’ report stating Burgum isn’t violating any ethics laws. Both reports are required of nominees going through the Senate confirmation process.
“In view of the fact that the Committee still does not have these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities, we respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Gov. Burgum’s nomination for at least a week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials,” the lawmakers wrote.
In response, Lee postponed the hearing by 48 hours. He said that despite Burgum’s full cooperation, the Office of Government Ethics failed to complete its review. “This bureaucratic delay is unacceptable,” he said, according to U.S. News. Burgum will now appear in front of the committee on Thursday.
Former Rep. Doug Collins, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, was originally scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday but because of delays with his FBI background check, it was postponed until Jan. 21, as Politico reported. Director of national intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard is also reportedly facing problems with paperwork, alongside Burgum and Collins.
Sen. Marco Rubio will be questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and so far, he hasn’t faced serious hiccups. In fact, The Hill reported Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., plans to vote in Rubio’s favor.
“I believe Sen. Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate,” Durbin said in a statement.
Utah Sen. John Curtis, who also serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, previously said he believes the Senate should “move quickly” on Trump’s nominees, but also that he takes seriously the Senate’s role to advise and consent.
“Anybody who wants to give me heat for doing my job, bring it on,” Curtis said in December on ABC’s This Week. “This is my job. It’s my constitutional responsibility.”
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi received the nomination for attorney general after Trump’s first pick, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, stepped aside. Her Senate hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be held over two days, on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Lee, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in November he considers Bondi a friend, and said he looked “forward to supporting her nomination in the Senate.”
The hearing for Chris Wright, the nominee for the Energy secretary, is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. He will also appear in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, headed by Lee.
