senate confirmations
Rick Perry, Steven Mnuchin go before Senate for confirmation hearings
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.
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.