Trump Cabinet hearings: Who is coming to Capitol Hill this week
President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominees for key Cabinet positions will have hearings for their Senate confirmation on Capitol Hill this week.
Nominees will first face committees with subject areas of relevance for their posts. Then, the entire Senate will vote on their confirmation. Republicans have a three-seat majority in the Senate, and nominees only need to reach a simple majority to be confirmed, meaning Trump’s nominees only have room for three Republicans to voice their dissatisfaction should all Democrats oppose a nominee.
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Here is the schedule for Trump’s nominees:
Tuesday, Jan. 14 Pete Hegseth – Senate Armed Services Committee
Former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth will face the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of his confirmation hearing for the defense secretary post. Hegseth has a tricky path to confirmation after multiple accusations of sexual assault have risen against him and some of his former co-workers have raised questions of his drinking habits. He has repeatedly denied the claims and promised not to drink if confirmed.
Doug Burgum – Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will face the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday as he is considered to be secretary of the interior. Burgum, coming from an oil-rich state, has been an advocate of American energy production. North Dakota also has large amounts of coal, wind energy, and biofuel production.
Doug Collins – Veterans Affairs Committee
Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, will face the Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Collins last ran for office in 2020, when he lost the Georgia Senate seat. He served two years as a Navy chaplain before joining the Air Force as a chaplain after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Wednesday, Jan. 15 Kristi Noem – Homeland Security Committee
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) will face the Homeland Security Committee as she is being considered for secretary of homeland security. The Department of Homeland Security is one of the most wide-ranging departments, encompassing agencies from TSA to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At one point in the campaign, Noem was rumored to be Trump’s pick for vice president.
Pam Bondi – Senate Judiciary Committee
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will face the Senate Judiciary Committee on both Wednesday and Thursday as she is considered for the role of attorney general. A staunch Trump ally, Bondi was a senior adviser on Trump’s first impeachment defense team. She served as Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019.
Sean Duffy – Senate Commerce Committee
Former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy, who most recently worked at Fox Business, will meet with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as he is considered to be secretary of transportation. His path to confirmation appears smooth as several senators on the Commerce Committee on both sides of the aisle have been positive about Duffy’s nomination.
Russell Vought – Homeland Security Committee
Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, will appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday. In the first Trump administration, he served briefly as director of the OBM. He is also expected to testify before the Senate Budget Committee, but that hearing is not scheduled.
John Ratcliffe – Intelligence Committee
John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence under Trump, will meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee as he is being considered to be director of the CIA.
Chris Wright – Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Chris Wright will meet with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee ahead of his confirmation hearing for secretary of energy. Wright is a Trump campaign donor and fossil fuel executive who has been vocal about his support for oil and gas development, including fracking, a key quest for Trump’s agenda.
Marco Rubio – Foreign Relations Committee
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. He is currently a senior member of the committee. His nomination will likely have some bipartisan support.
Lee Zeldin – Environmental and Public Works Committee
Lee Zeldin, who ran for governor of New York in 2022, was nominated for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He will face the Environmental and Public Works Committee on either Wednesday or Thursday. It is unclear the exact date at this time.
Thursday, Jan. 16 Elise Stefanik – Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Stefanik, a staunch supporter of Israel, is expected to have support from some Democrats, including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
Scott Turner – Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Former NFL player Scott Turner will meet with the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs as he is being considered to be Trump’s secretary of housing and urban development. Turner served as a midlevel official in the first Trump administration, during which he headed a council overseeing federal opportunity zones.
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Scott Bessent – Senate Finance Committee
Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who Trump tapped to be treasury secretary, will meet with the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. His confirmation is expected to be smooth as meetings with Republican senators and centrist Democrats have reportedly gone well.