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NEW: First Round Of Confirmation Hearings Revealed For Trump’s Cabinet Picks

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The Senate is preparing for a critical day of back-to-back confirmation hearings on January 14, marking the first major step in vetting President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet nominees. The hearings will spotlight two pivotal picks: Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and Pam Bondi for attorney general.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is set to host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for the Pentagon, next Tuesday according to Politico. Simultaneously, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the expected incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced his intention to schedule hearings for attorney general nominee Pam Bondi on the same day. This suggests that next Tuesday could mark the earliest date that Senate panels are able to convene hearings, following a vote scheduled for tomorrow to establish the Senate’s committees.

These committees generally require a week’s notice before conducting hearings. Grassley plans to hold Bondi’s hearing first, followed by hearings for Todd Blanche, Trump’s nominee for deputy attorney general, and Kash Patel, nominated for FBI director. Grassley is hopeful that Bondi will be confirmed by the committee by January 21.

For Republicans, the hearings represent an opportunity to solidify the incoming administration’s policy agenda, particularly on defense and law enforcement. Both nominees are expected to face pointed questioning from Democrats, who have vowed to scrutinize Trump’s Cabinet selections amid concerns over conflicts of interest and qualifications. While the stakes are high, Republicans hold a narrow majority in the Senate, leaving Democrats with limited tools to block confirmations.

Bondi, who served as the Attorney General of Florida from 2011 to 2019, was the first woman to hold that position in Florida. She gained national prominence during her tenure for her focus on issues like consumer protection, human trafficking, and opioid abuse. On Monday the nation’s leading police union has officially endorsed Bondi for attorney general. The endorsement came in the form of a letter addressed to President-elect Trump’s transition team and shared initially with The Hill.

In the letter, Patrick Yoes, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, declared strong backing for Bondi, citing her enduring support and partnership with the FOP during her tenure as Florida’s attorney general. “On behalf of the more than 377,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I commend your selection of Ms. Bondi to serve as Attorney General, and we look forward to resuming our partnership with you and your Administration,” Yoes said.

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Other Senate committees are gearing up to evaluate additional Trump administration nominees. The Senate Agriculture Committee, for instance, is slated to conduct a hearing on January 15 for Brooke Rollins, nominated to serve as Agriculture secretary, as per Politico. Additionally, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), poised to chair the Committee on Environment and Public Works, announced that her committee would review former New York Representative Lee Zeldin, nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency, on either Wednesday or Thursday of the coming week.

The hearings are poised to set the tone for a contentious start to Trump’s presidency, testing both his Cabinet picks and the Senate’s ability to navigate a deeply polarized political landscape.



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