Senate hearings are scheduled this week for several of Trump’s picks for the Cabinet. Many nominees have met with senators individually. Now, they’ll go before the committees overseeing the agencies Trump wants them to run.
Here’s the latest:
The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he wants to know whether Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi will be able to tell President-elect Donald Trump “no.”
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says it’s critical that any attorney general nominee be “committed first and foremost to the Constitution and the American people — not the president and his political agenda.”
Durbin noted that Trump has vowed to seek retribution against “the enemy within” and threatened to prosecute or jail some of his political opponents and that Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, has echoed those calls.
He listed a litany of complaints about the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland, including the criminal cases brought against Trump and the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The Justice Department abandoned the cases against Trump in November, citing the department’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Grassley urged a swift confirmation of Bondi, saying her prosecutorial experience “speaks volumes about her character and her dedication to the rule of law.”
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee highlighted Bondi’s work as Florida attorney general, going after so-called “pill mills” and other initiatives. She became Florida’s first female attorney general in 2011, serving until 2019.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, corporate lobbyist and longtime fixture in Trump’s orbit, is expected to face questions over her loyalty to Trump, given his threats to seek revenge on his perceived political enemies.
9:30 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Justice Department The former Florida attorney general makes the first of two scheduled appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was Trump’s pick for attorney general hours after his first choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration. Gaetz was facing questions about a federal sex trafficking investigation and a House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations that he paid for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl.
Bondi is a longtime fixture in Trump’s orbit. The attorney general will be one of the most closely watched Cabinet members, given the concern among Democrats that Trump will look to bend the Justice Department to his will.
10 a.m.: Sean Duffy, Transportation Department The former Wisconsin congressman who was also a co-host on Fox Business will be questioned by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The department oversees pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, airlines and mass transit systems, as well as funding for highways.
10 a.m.: John Ratcliffe, CIA Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence for the final months of Trump’s first term, goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The former Texas congressman is in line to lead the nation’s premier spy agency, responsible for foreign covert operations and collecting data on U.S. adversaries.
10 a.m.: Marco Rubio, State Department The Florida senator has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination to be secretary of state. As head of the State Department, job, Rubio would oversee the U.S. foreign service, advise Trump on diplomatic appointments and conduct negotiations with foreign leaders on behalf of the administration.
10 a.m.: Chris Wright, Energy Department
The fossil fuel executive, who has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, appears before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The secretary oversees energy generation and use in the United States as well as the nation’s nuclear weapon stockpile. Wright would also join Burgum on the National Energy Council.
1 p.m.: Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget Vought, OMB director during Trump’s first term, goes before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that the Republican nominee tried to distance himself from during the campaign. The budget director oversee the building of the president’s budget and review of proposed regulations.
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