Takeaways from Senate confirmation hearings: Democrats grill Trump Cabinet nominee
President-elect Donald Trump's proposed supporting cast for his second administration began emerging into public view Wednesday during a series of Senate confirmation hearings that mixed fiery exchanges with bipartisan comity.
Following nominee Pete Hegseth's contentious hearing Tuesday for Defense secretary, nominee Pam Bondi also endured tough questioning for Trump's attorney general. By contrast, Marco Rubio, nominee for secretary of State, was lauded by Democrats.
The other nominees who went before Senate committees Wednesday were Chris Wright for Energy secretary, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary and Russell Vought for Office of Management and Budget director.
The nominees stuck close to Trump, with Bondi refusing to say the president-elect lost the 2020 election. They also fielded questions about everything from Ukraine to Project 2025 and the independence of the Department of Justice.
Here are some takeaways.
Sticking close to Trump
During his first stint in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump often clashed with top figures in his administration.
Now the president-elect is nominating people who are very closely aligned with him and less willing to contradict him.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, asked Bondi in her hearing for attorney general Wednesday if she would say Trump lost the 2020 election. She offered only that she accepted the results and acknowledged that Joe Biden is president.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, later asked her, "Who won the 2020 presidential election?"
“Joe Biden is the president of the United States," Bondi said.
“You cannot say who won the 2020 election. It’s disturbing that you can’t give voice to that fact,” Hirono responded.
Pressed on the idea of an enemies list, an apparent reference to a book by Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director, and its list of “deep state” officials, Bondi said, “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA, told a committee Wednesday he wouldn't hire or fire people based on their political affiliations.
When questioned about concerns Trump would go after his political enemies, Bondi was adamant that Democrats were the ones politicizing the Department of Justice, and that she would restore neutrality. And Ratcliffe said widespread reforms are needed at the CIA, an agency that has often drawn Trump's ire.
The resistance lives
Many Democrats are concerned about whether Trump will pursue a retribution agenda through the Department of Justice, and they peppered Bondi with questions about the DOJ's independence Wednesday.
Bondi is the former attorney general of Florida and a close Trump ally who was part of his defense team during his first impeachment and traveled to Philadelphia a day after the 2020 election to argue Trump had won Pennsylvania while votes were still being counted.
While Democrats acknowledged Bondi was qualified for the attorney general job, they delved into questions about whether she had the principles to run the department apolitically and push back against Trump if there were questions about political interference in prosecutions.
Bondi had testy exchanges with two Democrats from California, Sen. Adam Schiff and Sen. Alex Padilla, telling Padilla, “I’m not going to be bullied by you.”
Despite the tensions, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, predicted Bondi would have no trouble getting confirmed “and hopefully with some Democrat support.”
Democrats are feeling their way forward in the new Trump era as they reckon with a resounding defeat in every swing state and the popular vote. Part of that involves figuring out how aggressively they want to go after Trump and his team.
While the Democratic resistance that Trump encountered during his first administration may be less all-encompassing, the tough questioning of Hegseth and Bondi shows it lives on.
Friendly reception
Trump’s more controversial Cabinet picks have received a lot of attention, but some of the president-elect's nominees are experiencing a much easier path to nomination.
Rubio was greeted warmly by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he served for years as a senator from Florida. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, greeted Rubio by saying, "I believe you have the skills and are well qualified to serve as secretary of State." Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Rubio “The president made a great decision in choosing you. I’m happy to see you there. You’re a thought leader in foreign policy.”
Duffy also had a relatively smooth hearing Wednesday, as did Ratcliffe. Both previously served in Congress. Republicans and Democrats alike praised Ratcliffe, calling him well-qualified, having served as director of national intelligence under Trump, on the House Intelligence Committee and as a top federal prosecutor in Texas.
MAGA pressure works
So far Republicans appear to be falling in line behind Trump’s picks, even the most controversial ones.
MAGA activists have mounted an aggressive pressure campaign, blitzing senators' offices with communications in support of the nominees and threatening primary challenges for GOP lawmakers who don't fall in line.
Mike Davis, founder of The Article III project, says his group enlisted thousands of volunteers to make 30,000 contacts with senators in support of Hegseth for Defense secretary, and another 40,000 backing Patel for FBI director.
Hegseth received a warm reception from GOP senators Tuesday, including Iowa’s Joni Ernst, who was viewed as a key swing vote and announced she would be supporting the nominee.
Republicans continued to rally around Trump’s other picks Wednesday, most notably Bondi.
While Democrats are concerned Bondi would pursue a retribution agenda for Trump, Republicans said she is exactly what the DOJ needs.
“Ms. Bondi, your testimony is music to my ears,” said John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Bondi’s closeness with Trump is a positive, not a negative.
“You have a longstanding relationship with the president, he trusts you. That’s a good thing,” Graham said.
Change is coming
Trump ran an aggressive campaign, promising sweeping changes to the military, federal law enforcement and immigration enforcement.
The president-elect followed up by appointing people to key positions who are viewed as trusted, loyal and true believers in his agenda. That they intend to follow through on Trump’s disruption pledges has been clear in recent days.
Hegseth described himself as a “change agent” in his opening statement Tuesday. He criticized clean energy programs in the military Tuesday, which he could roll back along with diversity efforts.
“My secretary of the Navy, should I be confirmed, will not be focused on climate change in the Navy," Hegseth said.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., called Hegseth a “breath of fresh air,” adding “if you weren’t paying attention to what this election was all about, it was about the disruptors versus the establishment.”
Running as a change candidate is nothing new. Former President Barack Obama was successful with that message as a Democrat.
Trump’s change agenda for his party includes overhauling various federal agencies. He has been particularly critical of federal law enforcement and intelligence officials.
Bondi’s hearing often focused on the independence of the Justice Department, which Trump has complained was “weaponized” against him, even as he threatens to go after his political enemies.
Bondi said Wednesday there are many good people at the Justice Department but made it clear she thinks reforms are needed.
“Politics have got to be taken out of the system. This department has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop,” she said.
Project 2025 still haunting Trump
Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump administration compiled by the conservative Heritage Foundation, dogged the president-elect throughout his campaign.
Democrats picked through the document to find the most controversial aspects and repeatedly hammered Trump with them, prompting him to disavow the plan.
Trump complained in an interview with Time Magazine that Heritage “complicated my election” by releasing the document, yet he hired some of Project 2025’s authors for his new administration, among them Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
Trump's take on the document came up in Vought's confirmation hearing.
“Mr. Vought, you are one of the architects of Project 2025, which sets forth a blueprint for implementing these unlawful and dangerous plans under this new administration,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said Wednesday's hearing.
Peters added, “I have serious questions about whether you can be trusted to carry out the laws that Congress has passed under the Constitution.”
Project 2025 also came up during Duffy’s confirmation hearing for Transportation secretary. He dismissed concerns raised by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that implementing Project 2025 could hurt consumer projections.
“I have never read Project 2025,” Duffy said. “So I'm not sure what's in it, but the president's going to decide policy, and he made me the secretary… the President stepped away from it. It's not part of – it hasn't been part of his agenda.”
Contributing: Josh Meyer, Aysha Bagchi, Bart Jansen, Savannah Kuchar and Sudiksha Kochi.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Takeaways from confirmation hearings for Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio