Big Day for Trump Admin Confirmation Hearings – The Rundown

If President-elect Donald Trump has Wheaties in one of his kitchen cabinets, he might want to eat a big bowl of them this morning (Jan. 15). Several of his Cabinet nominees should think about doing the same because it’s time for Senate confirmation hearings. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s secretary of defense nominee, was in the hot seat on Jan. 14. Hegseth’s hearing showed that “resistance” Democrats intend to use the incoming president’s nominations to stage a circus performance that would put P.T. Barnum to shame.

First up, on Jan. 15 was supposed to be former Democrat and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Gabbard is likely to find herself on the receiving end of considerable animosity from certain members of the party she rejected – but she’s no shrinking violet, and her former Democratic colleagues may well find they are biting off more than they can chew. A "paperwork problem" led to the postponement of Gabbard's hearing, which should now go ahead on Jan. 17.

DOJ Confirmation Hearings in the Spotlight

At 9:30 a.m., the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene for Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing. A former Florida attorney general, Bondi was chosen to replace Matt Gaetz as Trump’s pick to succeed the outgoing Merrick Garland at the helm of the Department of Justice. Bondi hasn’t been much of a target for Democrats. Like Gabbard', she is more than capable of holding her own in the face of tough challenges and criticisms.

However, the attorney general nomination is a big one, and of all the confirmation hearings, this could turn out to be the most contentious – along with the as-yet-unscheduled hearing for Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director. Having weaponized the DOJ and its principal law enforcement arm against their political opponents, Democrats will be loath to see that particular ace in the hole slip away. The Bondi hearing will spill over into Thursday, Jan. 16.

These are not the only confirmation hearings for Jan. 15. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be grilling Chris Wright, who is lined up for secretary of energy. Also, scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m., Sen. Marco Rubio will face the Foreign Relations Committee to convince them that he is the right candidate for secretary of state in the Trump administration. At the same time, John Ratcliffe, a former representative from Texas and Trump’s director of national intelligence from 2020 until the end of the 45th president’s single term, will sit with the Intelligence Committee. Ratcliffe has been tapped to take over the Central Intelligence Agency when the 45th president returns as the 47th – in just five days.

Sean Duffy, another former representative from Wisconsin, whom Trump has selected to replace overachiever Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, will appear at 10 a.m. before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Finally, as far as Wednesday’s confirmation hearings go, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will, at 1 p.m., interview Russell Vought, Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, who is vying to retake that position.

Since the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Democrats have again and again referred to the “smooth transition of power” from one administration to the next. A major component of that is the formation of the incoming president’s cabinet and White House staff. There was a time when it was considered protocol to not obstruct that process. With a heavy slate of confirmation hearings for Trump’s new cabinet, Jan. 15 will tell the American people a great deal about how committed Democrats are to smooth transitions of power.