CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for attorney general, secretary of state and several other key cabinet positions are scheduled to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday for high-stakes confirmation hearings.
The hearing comes five days before Trump’s inauguration and comes as the Republican-led Senate appears largely behind on choosing the next president.
Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, one of his most controversial figures, began this week’s hearings with a sometimes controversial appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. However, by the end of the day, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, one of the few Republicans whose support had been questioned, announced that she would support his nomination.
Among the six names scheduled for hearings Wednesday are two Floridians: Sen. Marco Rubio, President Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, and former state Attorney General Pam Bondi, his pick to head the Justice Department. , but they all received a small number of votes. More controversial than Hegseth.
Other hearings on deck: former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy on the Department of Transportation; Energy industry executive Chris Wright of the Department of Energy. John Ratcliffe is a former congressman who briefly served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term before becoming CIA director. and Russell Vought of the Office of Management and Budget, one of the lead authors of Project 2025.
Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s hearing:
Although Rubio is a respected figure in the Senate, he has not always been in Trump’s political orbit, but from the moment he was chosen for the role, he could easily win confirmation as the president-elect’s top diplomat. It was expected.
But Mr. Rubio, who is considered a foreign policy hawk, first spoke to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he serves, about what Mr. Trump’s “America First” approach means for the United States’ role in the world. It is necessary to explain why. Eight years ago, Mr. Rubio ran unsuccessfully in the presidential primary against Mr. Trump, but challenged first-term Secretary of State candidate Rex Tillerson on some of Mr. Trump’s isolationist views. chanted. Now, the Florida Republican is sitting in the spotlight, answering questions from colleagues and proving his loyalty to the president-elect.
Rubio is expected to say that President Trump’s “number one priority” at the State Department “must be and always will be America,” according to excerpts of prepared remarks obtained by CNN.
“While the United States too often continues to prioritize ‘world order’ over core national interests, other countries have and will continue to act in ways they think are best,” the Florida Republican said. I’m going to say, “I kept doing that.” interest. ”
Rubio also plans to target China, which “lyed, cheated, hacked and stole its way to global superpower status at our expense.” claims. Rubio’s comments came as President Trump promised to impose massive tariffs on Chinese goods.
One of the most pressing issues Rubio could face if confirmed is U.S. support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and how that might change under the new administration. President Trump called for a negotiated end to the war.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime hard-liner against Cuba, announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s administration would remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, which also includes North Korea, Syria and Iran. You may also mention what you did.
Mr. Rubio has already won the support of some Democrats and is almost certain to win early confirmation. His longer-term and larger task could be a fight against Mr. Trump’s more isolationist allies, who may seek to undermine his role once the next administration takes office.
The Shadow of January 6th and Political Prosecution
There is little doubt that Republicans will support Bondi, who was President Trump’s second choice for attorney general after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.
But Democrats will use her confirmation hearing, scheduled for two days, to demand answers about whether she will act on President Trump’s oft-stated desire to subject his political opponents to prosecution. Very likely.
Democrats also used Bondi’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and Thursday to push for pardons for Trump supporters convicted of actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. It is possible that details of President Trump’s plans may be sought.
The hearing comes as special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted President Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, said his office said “admissible evidence will not convict at trial.” The move comes a day after the release of a report concluding that the company assessed the situation as being sufficient to acquire and maintain the
Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2019, supported Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and could be questioned about those false claims.
On the campaign trail, Trump disavowed Project 2025, a sweeping conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term put together by a number of allies and former staffers, amid attacks from Democrats over its contents. .
But Vought, the primary author of that blueprint, was President Trump’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget and is likely to return to his role in Trump’s first administration.
Vought is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Unlike some nominees, Vought will have to testify twice, including at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, which has yet to be scheduled.
Democrats could use the hearing to question Vought about whether he believes Trump can cut spending without Congressional approval and whether he could replace federal employees with political appointees. There is a possibility.
President Trump’s selection of Wright, a Colorado fracking company executive, for the Energy Department signaled a dramatic policy shift by the Trump administration from the Biden administration’s push for renewable energy.
Democrats on the Energy and National Resources Committee asked for the hearing to be postponed, complaining that they had not received Wright’s ethics and financial disclosure documents from the Office of Government Ethics 24 hours before the hearing. was.
Wright will also serve on the newly created National Energy Council, which President Trump said will oversee all agencies involved in the “permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation” of energy. It is said to be composed of It will be chaired by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was nominated by President Trump to the Department of the Interior.
“The world runs on oil and gas, and we need it,” Wright told CNBC in a 2023 interview, calling calls to transition away from fossil fuels in 10 years an “unreasonable time frame.” said.
