The back-to-back hearings are likely to prove the first major test of Trump’s second term in office as Republicans grapple with a slim majority in the Senate.
More than a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees will face confirmation hearings in the Senate this week.
The back-to-back Senate hearings are likely to prove the first major test of Trump’s second term in office, as some of the president-elect’s selections have stoked controversy on both sides of the aisle in recent months.
The Republican Party currently maintains a slim majority in the Senate of 53 to 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats. As such, the ability of the Republican majority to push through Trump’s nominees will provide a key read of just how far his influence on the party extends.
A failure to secure nominations for some key positions, such as secretary of defense, could likewise hamstring the first weeks of Trump’s second term in office by limiting the president-elect’s ability to carry out sweeping institutional changes in government.
The 13 Trump administration appointees facing confirmation hearings in the coming week include:
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Hegseth will face the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Jan. 14. A former officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, Hegseth served on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the Bronze Star on two occasions before moving on to become a co-host of various Fox television programs.
Hegseth has been at the center of several controversies in recent months, including for his reported role in a veterans’ charity group that went bankrupt, an alleged history of alcohol abuse, and a sexual assault settlement with an unidentified woman in California, which Hegseth did not disclose to the Trump transition team before accepting the nomination.
Hegseth has said that, should he be confirmed to head the Pentagon, he will remove officers who championed diversity initiatives and will seek to end women’s ability to serve in combat roles.
