Confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees began this week. It won't be easy sledding for some of the candidates to lead America's government agencies.
Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice to lead the Defense Department, was first in dock on Tuesday morning. He told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that his focus would be on "warfighting and lethality," said CNN. His mission at the Pentagon will be to "bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense," he told the committee. But Hegseth is beset by questions regarding his past alcohol use, alleged mismanagement of nonprofit organizations and sexual assault allegations. Hegseth is not "qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job," said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
How will Democrats handle the confirmation hearings?
Senate Democrats will use their question time during the hearings to "rough up some of the nominees on their qualifications," Philip Elliot said at Time. Hegseth isn't the only nominee who will face tough opposition: Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice for director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the pick for top health official, will both face heavy skepticism. Democrats don't expect to be able to "derail" all of Trump's nominees, Elliot said, but "do have reasonable expectations that they could ding a few" enough that the new president rethinks his choices.
But Trump's nominees have "good chances of winning confirmation" despite that opposition, said The Hill. Republicans, after all, have a 53-seat majority in the Senate. Cabinet nominees would have to lose the support of at least four GOP senators to be defeated, and that seems unlikely to happen. Those senators are inclined to "let the president have his team, absent some extraordinary circumstances," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Who will be quickly confirmed?
Thune is trying to "game out" which nominees he can help get confirmed and ready to go on Trump's first day in office, Politico said. Nominations for "national security space are awfully important," he said. That group includes Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump's pick for secretary of state, as well as Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the choice to be ambassador to the United Nations. Those Day One confirmations are a "top priority," said Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
But the delays are mounting. A confirmation hearing for Doug Collins, Trump's pick to run the Veterans Affairs, was supposed to start on Tuesday, said Military Times. It was instead delayed to Jan. 21 because of "missing background paperwork." And Gabbard's nomination for DNI is "in limbo" because senators are still waiting on the necessary documents, said The Washington Examiner. For senators voting on the nominations, "it's critical that you have these documents," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
-
Revisionism and division: Franco’s legacy five decades onIn The Spotlight Events to mark 50 years since Franco’s death designed to break young people’s growing fascination with the Spanish dictator
-
Did Cop30 fulfil its promise to Indigenous Brazilians?Today’s Big Question Brazilian president approves 10 new protected territories, following ‘unprecedented’ Indigenous presence at conference, both as delegates and protesters
-
The best Christmas theatre shows across the UKThe Week Recommends Tip-top festive ballets, plays and comedies to book up now
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
Obamacare: Why premiums are rocketingFeature The rise is largely due to the Dec. 31 expiration of pandemic-era ‘enhanced’ premium subsidies, which are at the heart of the government shutdown
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
