Trump opts for a Senate confirmation hearing

When asked about the results of the 2020 election, Bondi was reluctant to give a clear answer as to whether she has any doubts that Joe Biden won the majority of the vote.

“I accept the results. I accept, of course, that Joe Biden is the president of the United States. But what I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for the campaign,” Bondi said. “I was on the ground in Pennsylvania and I saw many things there.”

In 2020, the Trump campaign claimed voter fraud in Pennsylvania to discredit the results of the presidential election.

“I think that question deserves a yes or no. I think the length of your answer is an indication that you were not prepared to answer yes,” said Senator Dick Durbin.

— Ece Yildirim

Ratcliffe said he will never allow “political or personal biases to cloud our judgment” if he is confirmed to lead the CIA.

“We will carry out covert actions at the direction of the president, go places no one else can go, and do things no one else can do,” he said in his inaugural address.

“To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, it time to find a new line of work,” he said.

“We have to be the ultimate meritocracy,” he said. “I will not tolerate anything or anyone that distracts from our mission.”

The remarks came after Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in his own opening remarks, “I certainly hope never again to see a video statement or a social media post from the CIA about diversity or fairness or inclusion.”

— Kevin Breuninger

Rubio drew laughs at his confirmation hearing when he hiccuped in response to one of several protesters who interrupted proceedings by shouting in Spanish.

“I get bilingual protesters,” said Rubio, a Cuban-American who is fluent in Spanish.

– Dan Mangan

Trump’s energy secretary select Chris Wright’s Senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee began with opening statements from Chairman Senate Mike Lee.

— Ece Yildirim

Senate Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Mark Warner, D-Va., asked Ratcliffe to “reassure the men and women of the CIA that they need not fear reprisals for speaking truth to power.”

“I need your commitment that you will not fire or force out CIA employees because of their perceived political views, and that you will not ask these employees to put loyalty to a political figure above loyalty to the country,” Warner said.

The comments came after Warner expressed concern that Trump has engaged in “undeserved attacks on the professional women and men of our intelligence services.”

— Kevin Breuninger

The Senate Commerce Committee began its confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Transportation, former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc.

The airline industry has pushed back on a host of Biden administration rules for air travelers, including automatic refunds for customers, and Duffy’s approach will be a key issue closely watched by consumer advocates and airline executives.

Duffy nodded to a major industry concern: a shortage of air traffic controllers in his opening testimony, pledging to “restore global confidence in Boeing and ensure our skies are safe,” pointing to ongoing struggles for the aerospace giant and the largest U.S. exporter.

— Leslie Josephs

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee began its hearing on Rubio’s nomination for secretary of state.

“Marco sees the values ​​of our allies and Democratic leaders who will stand up to our adversaries and who will work with the United States to deny a foothold to communist China, Iran and Russia,” said Sen. Rick Scott, Rubio’s Florida Republican .

– Dan Mangan

The Senate Intelligence Committee began its hearing on whether to confirm John Ratcliffe to head the CIA.

— Kevin Breuninger

The National Border Patrol Council endorsed Bondi for U.S. attorney general, saying in a statement that she “will ensure that our nation’s borders are no longer ignored.”

— Kevin Breuninger

In his prepared opening remarks, Bondi praises Trump and promises to end “the partisan weaponization of the Justice Department.”

Bondi says her “overarching goal” is to “return the Justice Department to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law.”

She also echoes a version of Trump’s campaign slogan, saying that “if confirmed, I will do whatever it takes to make America safe again.”

— Kevin Breuninger

The Public Citizen Advocacy Group says Bondi is unfit as attorney general because of potential “multiple conflicts of interest for her and” the DOJ due to her past work for 30 corporate and foreign lobbying clients.

“When Pam Bondi left her post as Florida Attorney General, she went straight to work as a registered lobbyist for big business and registered foreign agent serving foreign interests,” said Public Citizen democracy attorney Jon Golinger. “The U.S. Attorney General should be the attorney for the American people—not a corporate lobbyist with a closet full of conflicted clientsof which many apply for public contracts or is being investigated of the very Ministry of Justice that Bondi now seeks to lead.”

Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert is scheduled to testify as a witness Thursday at Bondi’s second confirmation hearing.

– Dan Mangan

Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi has arrived at the Hart Senate Office Building for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

— Ece Yildirim

Pam Bondi was not Trump’s first choice to lead the Justice Department — she replaced former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his bid for attorney general amid a whirlwind of sexual misconduct allegations and other controversies.

Bondi, the former Florida AG and lobbyist, is a much safer choice by comparison. But she is likely to face intense scrutiny from Democrats over the extent of her loyalty to Trump because of their fears about how the president-elect might seek to wield the government’s justice system against his enemies.

Bondi, 59, had co-led the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank, and defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial in 2020.

She has that too criticized the criminal cases Trump faced prior to his election, including those brought by former Special Counsel Jack Smithand claimed that the legal system was a weapon.

— Kevin Breuninger

The process of appointing Trump’s cabinet began Tuesday with a contentious confirmation hearing in the Senate for defense secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth, one of the president-elect’s most controversial picks.

Despite Democrats’ best efforts to grill Hegseth on his relative lack of experience and a series of allegations about his past, the former Fox News host emerged from the hearing likely to be vindicated.

There were some tense moments though. Late. Tim Kaine, D-Va., addressed Hegseth’s admitted past infidelity and a 2017 sexual assault allegation against him.

Late. Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., and others pressed Hegseth about his past comments against women in combat.

But Hegseth was warmly embraced by Republicans. A key GOP holdout, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, said later Tuesday that she would vote to confirm him.

— Kevin Breuninger

A confirmation hearing scheduled today for South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was abruptly postponed late Tuesday afternoon.

A former member of the House, Noem’s confirmation process was expected to be the most controversial of today’s slate.

The reason for the postponement was given, but The Hill newspaper reported it that it was “due to a delay in the FBI background check” for Noem.

— Christina Wilkie