A Look At President Trump's Nominees . .
. . . and their confirmation hearings
A look at some of President-elect Trump’s nominees and their confirmation hearings last week:
Attorney General – former Florida AG Pam Bondi: (before the Senate Judiciary Committee) – the Democrats spent an inordinate amount of time questioning her on Kash Patel: from her opening statement – from her opening statement - “If confirmed as United States Attorney General, my overriding objective would be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law. That requires getting back to basics—prosecuting violent crime and gang activity, stopping child predators and drug traffickers, protecting our nation from terrorists and other foreign threats, and 2 addressing the overwhelming crisis at the Border. The Department of Justice must also return to defending the foundational rights of all Americans, including free speech, free exercise of religion, and the right to bear arms. That is what the American people expect and deserve from the Department. If confirmed, I will do what it takes to make America safe again.”
CIA Director – former Congressman John Ratcliffe (before the Senate Intelligence Committee) – He told the committee: "We will collect intelligence — especially human intelligence — in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products."
"To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn't, then it's time to find a new line of work."
Director of the Office of Management and Budget – Russell Vought (before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee): Vought served in this capacity during President Trump’s first administration. “"There is unfinished business on behalf of the American people, and it’s an honor of a lifetime to get the call again," Vought said in a post on X after getting the nomination.
Earlier this month, Vought met with US Senator Pete Ricketts to discuss "cutting regulations and unleashing prosperity for the American people," the Nebraska representative wrote on X.
Energy Secretary – Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright (before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee): During the hearing he said, “President Trump shares my passion for energy. And if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy. . . . that includes oil and natural gas, which underpin the nation’s economy; coal, nuclear power and hydropower as major sources of energy; rapidly-growing wind and solar power; and geothermal energy, which could become a meaningful source of energy.”
EPA Administrator – former Congressman Lee Zeldin (before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee): “So, day one and the first 100 days, we have the opportunity to roll back regulations that are forcing businesses to be able to struggle, they’re forced to cut costs, internally, they are moving overseas all together. There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction.”
Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth said in his opening statement - “Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats—we are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal — not equitable, that is a very different word.”
He further told the Senate Armed Services Committee he will be “laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards and readiness.”
Secretary of Homeland Security – South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee): "The challenges in front of us are extremely significant, and we must secure our borders against illegal trafficking and immigration. We also need to have, to have interaction with the FBI, CIA, to make sure they're working together to stop these types of threats and identify when they're growing among our citizens."
(Remember FEMA falls under the Department of Homeland Security) "Under my leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, there will be no political bias to how disaster relief is delivered to the American people."
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – former NFL player and first executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Trump’s first administration - Scott Turner (before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee): “HUD, if you will, is failing at its most basic mission and that has to come to an end.” Turner didn’t commit to increasing the number of vouchers, which is a longstanding priority for Democrats, but said he wanted to make it more efficient and less cumbersome for landlords who rent their units to voucher-holders. During the hearing, Turner also said he supported tying work requirements to HUD housing programs.
Secretary of State: Senator Marco Rubio (before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee): During his confirmation hearing, he called China "the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted. The 21st Century will be defined by what happens between the United States and China," Rubio told his Senate colleagues, reiterating his long-held belief that the U.S. must push back on China's influence more forcefully.”
On Ukraine: “. . . here's my view of the situation: Once this war became what we now know it is, and that is, a war of attrition, a stalemate, a protracted conflict, the dynamic on that situation has changed. It has."
On Cuba: “"So there is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism.”
On Panama: “"President Trump is not inventing this. This is something that's existed now for at least a decade." During a trip to Panama in 2017, Rubio said Chinese companies' control of port facilities on either end of the canal was "the central issue" discussed.
Secretary of the Interior (The Interior Department oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore. Combined those areas produce about one-quarter of U.S. oil, or more than 1 billion barrels of crude annually. The Interior Department’s mandate extends beyond fossil fuels to include grazing, mining, fish and wildlife conservation, the National Park system and has oversight responsibilities for more than 500 Native American and Alaska Native tribes.) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources): “If we can decarbonize traditional fuels cheaper than we can subsidize some of the renewables, that’s something we should look at.” He went on . . . “the electric grid needs more resources that provide power continuously, as opposed to “intermittent” sources such as solar and wind that fluctuate.
“We’ve got massive tax incentives for people that want to do intermittent” power, Burgum said. “The balance is out of whack.”
Burgum also said the U.S. needs to make more “baseload” electricity from coal and other sources as it seeks to power data centers for the nation’s tech industry. This is something that is critical to our national security. Without baseload we’re going to lose the AI arms race to China.”
Transportation Secretary – (also oversees the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration) -- former Congressman Sean Duffy (before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee): “If confirmed as secretary of transportation, I will work tirelessly to make travel in America more efficient, more comfortable and safer.”
He said he would try to eliminate unnecessary hurdles that slow critical infrastructure projects to achieve one of President Trump’s mandates: to “focus on big, durable projects that connect our country and people.”
Treasury Secretary – Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent (before the Senate Banking Committee): On continuing President Trump’s tax cuts from his first term which are set to expire this year: "This is the single most important economic issue of the day. This is pass-fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class."
"I believe Wall Street has done great the past few years, and that Main Street has suffered. I think it's Main Street's time."
Upcoming hearings:
Ambassador to the United Nations – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (a January 21st scheduled hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee)
Director of National Intelligence – Tulsi Gabbard (has not been scheduled)
FBI Director – Kash Patel (has not been scheduled)
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (has not been scheduled)
Department of Veterans Affairs – former Congressman Doug Collins (scheduled for January 14th before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, but the hearing was postponed until a later date)