“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I’m prepared for. And I’m honored by the people standing and sitting behind me and look forward to leading the Pentagon on behalf of the warfighters.”
The U.S. Senate is set to begin hearings on Jan. 14 to consider the first of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Much of the attention during the hearings is likely to focus on Pete Hegseth, a former Minnesota Army National Guard officer, whom Trump has nominated for the role of secretary of defense.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, leading off Hegseth’s confirmation process, could question him about his plans to reorient the military’s warfighting focus and his views on women serving in combat roles.
The confirmation hearings for Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins and Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum, initially scheduled for Jan. 14, have been postponed amid delays in the vetting process.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said he has postponed the confirmation hearing for Collins to Jan. 21—the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
This week will be busy on Capitol Hill as 13 of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees will be questioned by Senate committees.
Constitutional Requirement
Almost all Cabinet nominees require Senate confirmation in accordance with the Constitution, which states that the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for.”Going Before Committees
The nominees testify before the applicable committees. For example, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump’s pick for secretary of state, is scheduled to go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 15, while Doug Burgum, the president-elect’s nominee to lead the Interior Department, is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the day before.Committee Votes on Whether to Advance Nominees
Afterward, the committees will vote on whether to advance the nominee for a full vote on the Senate floor. A nominee being rejected by a committee does not mean that he or she cannot get a vote before the full Senate; therefore, the committee vote is non-binding.
A dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees will face confirmation hearings in the Senate this week.
The back-to-back Senate hearings are likely to prove the first major test of Trump’s second term in office, as some of the president-elect’s selections have stoked controversy on both sides of the aisle in recent months.
