For a second day in a row, the USA Senate has weighed nominees for key positions in President-elect Donald Trump’s cupboard, grilling candidates on their backgrounds and {qualifications}.
Wednesday was a busy day for the Senate, because it held hearings for six Trump nominees, together with heavy-hitters like Senator Marco Rubio — his decide to be secretary of state — and Pam Bondi, tapped for the lawyer normal’s seat.
The hearings come as Republican leaders in Congress hope to present Trump a robust begin to his second time period, which begins on Monday.
Excessive-level cupboard positions want Senate approval, and Republicans maintain 53 seats to the Democrats’ 45.
Nonetheless, controversial nominees will want each vote doable to reach their appointment. Wednesday’s hearings, as an illustration, have been preceded by fiery proceedings a day earlier, as senators pressed Pete Hegseth, Trump’s decide for secretary of defence, over allegations of extreme ingesting and sexual assault.
Listed below are some key takeaways from Wednesday’s testimonies earlier than the Senate.
Rubio flashes hawkish streak
Throughout his testimony, Rubio, a US senator from Florida, pledged to place US pursuits “earlier than something and every little thing else” if appointed as secretary of state.
Rubio additionally flashed his stripes as a overseas coverage hawk, denouncing China because the “greatest menace” the US faces within the twenty first century.
“If we don’t change course, we’re going to reside on this planet the place a lot of what issues to us every day — from our safety to our well being — will likely be depending on whether or not the Chinese language permit us to have it or not,” Rubio stated.
He added that China had “repressed and lied and cheated and hacked and stolen [its] means into world superpower standing”.
Wednesday’s remarks have been in keeping with Rubio’s monitor file of taking an adversarial strategy to perceived US rivals.
Nonetheless, he praised US alliances like NATO, providing a counterpoint to the extra aggressive posture of Trump himself.
“The NATO alliance is an important alliance. I consider that,” he stated.
“With out the NATO alliance, there isn’t any finish to the Chilly Conflict. The truth is, with out the NATO alliance, it’s fairly doable that a lot of what immediately we all know as Europe would have fallen sufferer to aggression.”
However he echoed Trump’s place that different NATO allies “have to contribute extra to their very own defence” and rely much less on US assist.
Ratcliffe pledges no political bias
In a separate listening to, John Ratcliffe, Trump’s decide to guide the Central Intelligence Company (CIA), assured lawmakers that he wouldn’t persecute members of the intelligence group for inadequate loyalty to Trump.
“We’ll produce insightful, goal, all-source evaluation, by no means permitting political or private biases to cloud our judgment or infect our merchandise,” Ratcliffe stated of his goals as CIA director.
A former federal prosecutor, Ratcliffe beforehand served because the director of nationwide intelligence (DNI) throughout Trump’s first time period in workplace, from 2017 to 2021.
Like Rubio, Ratcliffe is predicted to sail by way of the affirmation course of. However senators expressed concern that Trump’s picks in high-ranking regulation enforcement roles could search to make use of their powers for political goals.
Ratcliffe had beforehand pledged to “clear out corrupt actors for our nationwide safety and intelligence equipment”.
On Wednesday, he confronted direct questioning about whether or not that course of would weed out staff primarily based on political choice.
“Will you or any of your workers impose a political litmus check for CIA staff?” Senator Angus King requested.
“No,” Ratcliffe answered. He insisted that eradicating personnel for his or her views was “one thing that I’d by no means do”.
Bondi dodges questions of Smith probe
Trump’s decide for lawyer normal is predicted to be among the many most contentious, given the president-elect’s lengthy historical past of statements insisting that he’ll prosecute political rivals throughout his second time period in workplace.
That put Bondi beneath the microscope throughout her Senate listening to on Wednesday.
She tried to assuage these considerations with a few of her statements, insisting that “politics needs to be taken out of this method”.
“Nobody ought to be prosecuted for political functions,” she added. As head of the Division of Justice, she can be the federal authorities’s prime prosecutor.
However when pressed about whether or not she would open investigations into particular figures like former Particular Counsel Jack Smith, Bondi declined to offer clear-cut solutions.
“It will be irresponsible of me to make a dedication relating to something,” she stated when requested about Smith, who led two legal indictments towards Trump.
Bondi has beforehand echoed Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen by way of large fraud and voting irregularities.
On Wednesday, she stated she would consider potential pardons for individuals who took half within the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, on a “case-by-case foundation”.
Duffy to pursue accountability from Boeing
In a comparatively tame testimony, Sean Duffy, Trump’s option to be secretary of transportation, stated that he would search for a option to make electrical automobiles (EVs) pay for highway upkeep largely financed by gasoline taxes.
He additionally asserted that Boeing, a prime US aircraft producer, wanted “powerful love” to satisfy satisfactory security requirements.
“I feel we’ve got to verify they’re implementing their security plan,” Duffy stated, including the aerospace firm wanted to “restore world confidence” in its model.
The feedback come as Boeing has confronted persistent scrutiny following midair security mishaps in 2024, in addition to fraud prices.
“We’ve to push the [Federal Aviation Administration] to verify they’re implementing their security plan,” stated Duffy, a former lobbyist, TV persona and member of the US Home of Representatives.
