WASHINGTON (AP) — One by one, all of the president-elect’s men and women are gathering in his Cabinet.
While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination was on the brink of collapse just weeks ago, he now appears to be on track for confirmation after a heated Senate hearing that focused on his drinking, his views on women Combat and the lack of high-level management experience for the top US leadership went military career.
President-elect Donald Trump’s other nominees pushed through a series of confirmation hearings on Wednesday with the assist of allied Republicans in the Senate, despite objections from Democrats. One of them, potential FBI director Kash Patel, came to a private Senate Republican luncheon on Wednesday to say hello.
“These nominees are bold choices,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the GOP leader, said in earlier remarks.
He predicted that the Senate would begin voting to confirm Trump’s election on Inauguration Day, January 20.
A long road ahead for some of Trump’s recommendations
To be sure, Trump’s more controversial choices for Patel, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have yet to be submitted to senators for public questioning. Once this is achieved, there will still be a long way to go to win over skeptics on both sides of the political spectrum, Republicans and Democrats.
In a letter to Republican senators on Wednesday, an organization led by Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence said it was “deeply concerned” about Kennedy’s views on abortion and urged senators to reject him as secretary of Health and Human Services.
But Hegseth’s ability to mount a political comeback, take the fight to his critics and turn his nomination into a litmus test for Trump’s Make America Great Again movement is a powerful example of the modern White House’s ability to get what it wants it wants. The Trump team’s allies, including billionaire Elon Musk and others, increased their support for Hegseth and pushed him forward.
“If anyone in the Senate GOP votes against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth after his outstanding performance today, a major challenge awaits,” Trump ally Charlie Kirk wrote on X. “You can take that to the bank.”
Momentum for Hegseth – and a few others
The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to vote on Hegseth’s nomination on Monday and send it to the full Senate for consideration. Confirmation is possible later this week.
With a supportive nod from GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who initially had questions for Hegseth, the former Army National Guard veteran overcame his biggest potential obstacle. Ernst faced an onslaught of personal and political attacks when she refrained from supporting Hegseth, which was an early signal to others.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said the criticism of Hegseth was not as sturdy as the image of “a warrior with dust on his boots who actually did things.”
On Wednesday, a half-dozen more Trump nominees appeared before Senate committees as his team flooded the zone and senators darted between hearing rooms to attend as many meetings as possible.
Pam Bondi, the candidate for attorney general, was asked by Democrats whether she believed Trump lost the 2020 election, whether Biden won the election, or whether she would support presidential pardons for those who were convicted of crimes related to January 6, 2021.
“You’re saying the right things, that you’re going to be the ‘people’s advocate,'” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“But I believe that as a ‘people’s advocate’ you have to be able to say no to the president of the United States,” he said. “You have to be able to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, you have dodged that question… You have to be able to say that January 6th insurrectionists who committed violence should not be pardoned.”
Bondi replied: “I don’t have to say anything. I will answer the questions to the best of my knowledge and belief and honestly.”
Another Trump nominee, Russ Vought, a Project 2025 architect set to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, was asked whether he would commit to releasing congressionally approved funds for Ukraine. He vowed to “always work to uphold the law.”
And California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla asked Trump’s energy candidate Chris Wright if he still believes “wildfires are just hype” after the devastating fires in Southern California that killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Wright said he stands by his previous comments. He then said climate change is real before Padilla interrupted him.
Republicans are aiming for quick votes after Trump’s inauguration
On Monday, Trump is expected to enter the Capitol after his inauguration to sign paperwork formally nominating his nominees for top Cabinet and administration positions, beginning the confirmation process.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will vote on the nominees as soon as they are ready.
First in line could be Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), a former Trump rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination who is now the president-elect’s pick for secretary of state.
Rubio promised an “America First” foreign policy agenda during his own confirmation hearing on Wednesday. As a well-known senator, he is likely to have broad support among both Republicans and Democrats. His confirmation vote could come as soon as Monday evening.
Other nominees, including Hegseth, are expected to face a more challenging path to confirmation.
Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate, 53-47, but fell to 52 after Vice President-elect JD Vance resigned his seat before taking office last week. That means Trump’s nominees will need the support of nearly every Republican senator to win majority confirmation over Democrats’ objections.
In addition, Democrats are expected to overcome procedural hurdles that require Hegseth and other nominees to go through multiple steps before final confirmation. The deliberations about Hegseth and others could drag on until the end of next week.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer all but conceded that Democrats, as a minority, are virtually powerless to prevent Trump from getting his dream team.
“It’s important to have a list of these nominees,” Schumer said Wednesday as the hearings progressed. “Even if they are confirmed in the end.”
___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Matt Brown, Farnoush Amiri and Josh Boak in Washington and Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
