By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks will be put to the test this week on Capitol Hill.
Starting Tuesday, the nominees will be questioned by the respective Senate committees that have oversight over their departments. Congressional Republicans are rushing to have their ducks in a row by the time Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
“I think one of the things that Republicans are going to try to do is they want to make the process look as normal as possible, because some of these appointees or nominees are not normal in the usual sense of the types of people we get in a president’s cabinet,” said Dr. Todd Belt, Professor and Director of the Political Management Master’s Program at George Washington University.
Kicking off the hearings tomorrow will be Former Congressman Doug Collins, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs and Pete Hegseth, the veteran and former Fox News host who Trump chose to lead the Department of Defense.
Late last year, Hegseth was in hot water over allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and mismanaging the finances of a nonprofit. Hegseth pushed back and continued to meet with Republican senators. Some GOP senators, who were viewed as holdouts against Hegseth, eventually voiced support for him. However, Hegseth still has a long way to the finish line.
“I think what you’re going to see is the tough questions coming from the Democrats. And the real thing to watch for is how well-prepared these nominees will be for those questions that are forthcoming,” said Belt.
Pam Bondi is Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department. The former Florida Attorney General is scheduled for hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.
Some nominees can expect to see Democratic support. Marco Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, and Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, are two nominees Senator John Fetterman (D- PA) has publicly expressed support for. A few other Democrats have also warmed up to some nominees.
“There are a couple of Democratic wild cards. We’ve seen people like Fetterman and Sanders indicate some support of people that you might not normally consider, but they’re really looking at outcomes and they’re looking at the performance of government and what will get done knowing that they’re not going to get nearly close to everything they want out of a Trump administration. But are there some pet policies that they have that could be moved forward by some of these appointees,” said Belt.
Despite being seen as a controversial nominee to many Democrats, Belt says RFK. Jr., the pick for health secretary, may see some Democratic support.
“There are a number of things that Democrats are very interested in that he has said he would go after, such as forever chemicals and some of the pesticides used in agribusiness. And so he may pick up a number of different Democrats that could help offset any sort of losses he might have,” said Belt.
Belt believes Trump’s pick for Director of National intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, may face the largest uphill battle of all nominees.
“It looks like the one who’s got the biggest difficulty ahead of her is Tulsi Gabbard. There’s a number of Democrats who’ve come out against her and a lot of Republicans who have really not softened their stance, and they have a lot of concerns regarding her foreign policy credentials and some of her positions she’s taken,” said Belt.
Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, as well as former NY Congressman Lee Zeldin, the pick for EPA Administrator, are expected to field questions from senators later in the week.
Nominees will require 50 votes in the Senate to be appointed. Vice President-elect JD Vance will be able to break a tie after he’s sworn in on Jan. 20.
