Live Updates: Senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s Cabinet pick Kristi Noem

Thursday’s trio of confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees spotlights Trump’s domestic and economic agenda, which will dominate debates on Capitol Hill this year.

None of the nominees appearing on the Senate floor Thursday — Scott Bessent at Treasury, Doug Burgum at Interior and Lee Zeldin at the Environmental Protection Agency — appear to be in danger of not winning Senate confirmation. But their hearings offered a taste of the battles ahead that the Trump administration will fight this year to implement the president-elect’s agenda on taxes, spending, tariffs and the environment.

Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways from Thursday’s hearings:

Bessent says Trump tax cuts must be made permanent: Bessent, a hedge fund manager tapped to lead the Treasury Department, touted Trump’s economic agenda as a way to “trigger a new economic golden age” that would “uplift all Americans.” That agenda includes making the 2017 tax cuts permanent, he said.

Expanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of Trump’s signature accomplishments in his first term, is a top priority for the incoming administration and congressional Republicans, who control Capitol Hill. The sweeping individual income and property tax cuts – which included a reduction in individual income tax rates, a doubling of the child tax credit and a near doubling of the standard income tax credit – are set to expire at the end of the year. Most of the law’s corporate tax breaks are permanent.

Burgum promises to follow the law and the constitution: Burgum told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday that he will “follow the law and follow the Constitution” if confirmed, when asked if he would stand up to Trump’s demands.

Zeldin says he believes “climate change is real”: Zeldin, a former New York congressman running for governor in 2022, said at his confirmation hearing Thursday that he sees climate change as a threat while defending the president-elect’s position on the issue.

“I think climate change is real,” Zeldin said when pressed by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Read more takeaways from third day of confirmation hearings here.