Rick Perry, Steven Mnuchin go before Senate for confirmation hearings

Steven Mnuchin visits Trump Tower in Manhattan. — (Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump's energy secretary nominee Rick Perry and treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin will testify at their Senate confirmation hearings Thursday morning.

A former Texas governor, Perry has previously argued to eliminate the Department of Energy and reportedly was not entirely sure about what the department does when he was offered the position. If confirmed, Perry will largely work to oversee the U.S. nuclear arsenal and is expected to face tough questions today from combative Democrats, the Texas Tribune reports. Yet Perry might slip by mostly unscathed: "There are bigger fish to fry," a Senate Democratic aide told the Tribune.

One such fish could be former Goldman Sachs partner Mnuchin, who will likely face questions interrogating his time at OneWest Bank, which is accused of merciless foreclosure tactics during the housing crisis. Mnuchin has also faced trouble with his financial paperwork, admitting in a revised questionnaire that he is the director of an investment fund based in the Cayman Islands and that he forgot to disclose over $900,000 worth of artwork held by his children, The New York Times reports.

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All of the Senate hearings can be watched live on C-SPAN, with Perry's kicking the day off at 9:30 a.m. ET.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.