Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), inched one step closer to being the White House budget chief.
Following a closed Jan. 30 business meeting, Senate Budget Committee Republicans voted 11–0 in favor of Vought’s nomination. His nomination will now be sent to the Senate floor in the coming days.
Democrats on the panel boycotted the vote, criticizing their Republican colleagues for not making the meeting accessible to the public.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) questioned Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans for staffing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the Department of Health and Human Services if confirmed as secretary.
Alsobrooks said Kennedy previously told her that he intends to rid the NIH of “the bad scientists” and replace them with “the good scientists.”
The U.S. relationship with China is “complex,” said former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence.
When it comes to China-owned social media platform TikTok, Gabbard said, “I would just reiterate some of my concerns that I stated in the past about how this really is an issue about data privacy because so much of what is collected by all of these, even us understood, but I'm just concerned about any country, and that is a bigger issue for Congress to wrestle and I am all in for that conversation.”
Kash Patel denied having an enemies list after multiple senators have alluded—both in his confirmation hearing and in another—to a list of “deep state” actors in an appendix to his book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked Patel about the inclusion of former Attorney General William Barr on that list, noting that it has been referred to as an “enemies list.” Patel responded in part by calling that label a “total mischaracterization.”
Members of the committee similarly suggested Patel had an enemies list during a confirmation hearing for former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice. Bondi told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) earlier this month, “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.”
The Senate will hold hearings on Jan. 30 to consider President Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the U.S. intelligence community and the FBI, key national security appointees that are likely to face intense scrutiny before they can proceed to a confirmation vote.
Trump has nominated Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence (DNI) to oversee the various U.S. intelligence and national security agencies, including the FBI.
Gabbard, who currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, represented Hawaii’s second congressional district from 2013 to 2021 as a Democrat.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance for his first confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Jan. 29.
Kennedy, who ran for president as a Democrat and then an independent before ending his White House bid and backing Trump in August 2024, entered the chamber to applause from supporters in the audience and shook hands with lawmakers before taking a seat.
The hearing showcased a sharp division between the parties over Kennedy’s views. Most Republicans praised Kennedy for his past advocacy work and his emphasis on addressing the nation’s chronic disease epidemic, while Democrats criticized the founder of the Children’s Health Defense for his stance on vaccine efficacy.