WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day.
Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote, as soon as Tuesday. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is possible later in the week.
“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.
It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.
With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.
Rubio, who was surrounded by colleagues in the Senate chamber, said afterward he feels “good, but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
“It’s an important job in an important time, and I’m honored by it,” Rubio said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, announcing he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.
Democrats have calculated it’s better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They’re holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”
Rubio, he said, is an example of “a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly.”
Senate committees have been holding lengthy confirmation hearings on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously advanced Rubio’s nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, voted to move the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe. And the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced nominees Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary and Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget, but with opposition.
Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.
As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio warned of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.
Rubio cultivated bipartisan support from across the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats. He takes over for outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden’s policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.
The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance and, soon, Rubio drops the GOP majority further until their successors arrive. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.
Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden, in one of his final acts as president, pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in an extraordinary use of executive power to guard against potential “revenge” by the new Trump administration.
The decision Monday by Biden came after now-President Donald Trump had warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the Capitol siege four years ago. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.
“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,” Biden said in a statement. “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
The prospect of such pardons had been the subject of heated debate for months at the highest levels of the White House. It’s customary for a president to grant clemency at the end of his term, but those acts of mercy are usually offered to Americans who have been convicted of crimes.
Trump said after his inauguration that Biden had pardoned people who were “very very guilty of very bad crimes” — “political thugs,” Trump called them.
Biden, a Democrat, has used the power in the broadest and most untested way possible: to pardon those who have not even been investigated. His decision lays the groundwork for an even more expansive use of pardons by Trump, a Republican, and future presidents.
While the Supreme Court last year ruled that presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for what could be considered official acts, the president’s aides and allies enjoy no such shield. There is concern that future presidents could use the promise of a blanket pardon to encourage allies to take actions they might otherwise resist for fear of running afoul of the law.
“I continue to believe that the grant of pardons to a committee that undertook such important work to uphold the law was unnecessary, and because of the precedent it establishes, unwise,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who worked on the committee. “But I certainly understand why President Biden believed he needed to take this step.”
It’s unclear whether those pardoned by Biden would need to apply for the clemency. Acceptance could be seen as a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing, validating years of attacks by Trump and his supporters, even though those who were pardoned have not been formally accused of any crimes. The “full and unconditional” pardons for Fauci and Milley cover the period extending back to Jan. 1, 2014.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said, adding that “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.”
Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years, including during Trump’s term in office, and later served as Biden’s chief medical adviser until his retirement in 2022. He helped coordinate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised Trump’s ire when he resisted Trump’s untested public health notions. Fauci has since become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights, even as hundreds of thousands of people were dying.
“Despite the accomplishments that my colleagues and I achieved over my long career of public service, I have been the subject of politically-motivated threats of investigation and prosecution,” Fauci said in a statement. “There is absolutely no basis for these threats. Let me be perfectly clear: I have committed no crime.”
Milley, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called Trump a fascist and has detailed Trump’s conduct around the Jan. 6 insurrection. He said he was grateful to Biden for a pardon.
“I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” he said in a statement. “I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.”
Biden also extended pardons to members and staff of the Jan. 6 committee that investigated the attack, as well as the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the House committee about their experiences that day, overrun by an angry, violent mob of Trump supporters. It’s a “full and unconditional pardon,” for any offenses “which they may have committed or taken part in arising from or in any manner related to the activities or subject matter.”
The committee spent 18 months investigating Trump and the insurrection. It was led by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who later pledged to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and campaigned with her against Trump. The committee’s final report found that Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.
“Rather than accept accountability,” Biden said, “those who perpetrated the January 6th attack have taken every opportunity to undermine and intimidate those who participated in the Select Committee in an attempt to rewrite history, erase the stain of January 6th for partisan gain, and seek revenge, including by threatening criminal prosecutions.”
Biden’s statement did not list the dozens of members and staff by name. Some did not know they were to receive pardons until it happened, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Cheney and Thompson said in a statement on behalf of the committee that they were grateful for the decision, saying they were being pardoned “not for breaking the law but for upholding it.”
“These are indeed ‘extraordinary circumstances’ when public servants are pardoned to prevent false prosecution by the government for having worked faithfully as members of Congress to expose the facts of a months long criminal effort to override the will of the voters after the 2020 election, including by inciting a violent insurrection,” the said in the statement.
The extent of the legal protection offered by the pardons may not fully shield the lawmakers or their staff from other types of inquiries, particularly from Congress. Republicans on Capitol Hill would still likely have wide leverage to probe the committee’s actions, as the House GOP did in the last session of Congress, seeking testimony and other materials from those involved.
Biden, an institutionalist, has promised a smooth transition to the next administration, inviting Trump to the White House and saying that the nation will be OK, even as he warned during his farewell address of a growing oligarchy. He has spent years warning that Trump’s ascension to the presidency again would be a threat to democracy. His decision to break with political norms was brought on by those concerns.
Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. He also pardoned his son Hunter for tax and gun crimes. Moments before leaving office, he pardoned his siblings and their spouses in a move designed to guard against potential retribution.
He is not the first to consider such preemptive pardons. Trump aides considered them for Trump and his supporters involved in his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that culminated in the violent riot at the Capitol. But Trump’s pardons never materialized before he left office four years ago.
President Gerald Ford granted a “full, free, and absolute pardon” in 1974 to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal.
Trump has promised to grant swift clemency to many of those involved in the Capitol riot.
Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, was one of the officers who testified before the congressional panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Fanone said he learned of Biden’s last-minute pardons from a reporter. He said it was about protecting him and his family from a “vengeful party.”
“I haven’t digested it,” he said. “I just can’t believe that this is my country.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy.
It’s a disquieting contrast for some civil rights advocates who wish to fulfill the late reverend’s dream of non-violent social revolution.
Events honoring King and advocating for his vision of a just society will occur across the nation as many in the U.S. observe the peaceful transfer of power in the capital. The concurrent events have been met with mixed feelings by civil rights leaders, who broadly reviled Trump’s rhetoric and stances on race and civil rights during his third presidential campaign.
But many leaders, including King’s own family, see the juxtaposition as a poignant contrast and a chance to refocus the work of advancing civil rights in a new political era.
“I’m glad it occurred on that day because it gives the United States of America and the world the contrast in pictures. Is this the way you want to go — or is this the way you want to go?” said the Rev. Bernice King, the late King’s youngest daughter and CEO of the King Center.
“It’s not a day that he can be the star, which he loves to be,” King’s daughter said of Trump. “He has to contend with that legacy on that day, regardless of how he manages it and handles it in his presentation. I hope those around him are advising him well to honor the day appropriately in his speech.”
This is the third time in the nearly 40 years since the federal King holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday. Both praised King in their remarks; it is yet to be seen if and how Trump — who falsely claimed his first inauguration had larger crowds than King’s March on Washington — will acknowledge the day.
“Will he sound a message of unity and a presidency for all, or will he continue to focus on his base and some of the divisive policies he’s championed, like an anti-DEI stance, rounding up immigrants and cutting important parts of the social safety net through this DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) process?” asked Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League civil rights group.
Morial added that Trump’s inauguration landing on MLK Day represented “a contradiction of values.”
Many civil rights leaders will spend the day commemorating King’s legacy after a week of public and private organizing, giving speeches and strategizing how to respond to the incoming administration’s agenda.
“It’s the best of times and the worst of times,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, an organization whose members mentored, collaborated and clashed with King throughout the Civil Rights Movement.
“Our mission doesn’t change. Our job is to make democracy work for all, to make sure that equal protection is ensured under the law,” Johnson said. He added that the group “doesn’t want to assume” the Trump administration can’t be a partner on advancing civil rights or racial justice.
On Wednesday, Johnson and other civil rights leaders met with Congressional Black Caucus members on Capitol Hill to discuss how to work with and to oppose the Trump administration. That same day, the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, hosted a breakfast at which Vice President Kamala Harris urged attendees to stay motivated.
“Ours is a journey,” she said. “Whatever the outcome of any particular moment, we can never be defeated. Our spirit can never be defeated, because when that happens, we won’t win.”
Martin Luther King III, the late King’s eldest son, prayed with Harris on stage. King had campaigned for Harris in the fall and called her an advocate who “speaks to our better angels” and “embodies Dr. King’s legacy.”
Many racial justice advocates are set to organize demonstrations, vigils and community service events to mark the holiday and prepare for what they consider an adversarial administration.
Some groups are reflecting on parallels and differences with how King organized in the face of explicitly white supremacist state and local governments and geopolitical tumult.
“The hostility is similar, particularly in that there is a mobilized, active and aggressive extremist-right hell bent on unraveling rights and any sense of shared purpose, shared problems or shared solutions,” said Maya Wiley, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. What differs, Wiley said, is the understanding “there has to be opportunity for everyone.”
King himself worried the legal protections he dedicated his life to realizing would not be followed by greater anti-discrimination efforts or social programs. He proposed it would take white Americans embracing a deeper kinship with Black Americans and engaging in economic and social solidarity to see change.
A year before his 1968 assassination, King wrote in his final book that giving a Black person their “due” often required “special treatment.”
“I am aware of the fact that this has been a troublesome concept for many liberals, since it conflicts with their traditional ideal of equal opportunity and equal treatment of people according to their individual merits,” King wrote in the 1967 book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.” “But this is a day which demands new thinking and the reevaluation of old concepts.”
King’s advocacy for “new concepts” found an heir in the enactment of affirmative action policies in workplaces and schools. Many advocates of diversity, equity and inclusion policies see such programs as realizing his vision, though that argument has come under withering scrutiny from conservative activists.
Trump’s views on race have been criticized for decades. The federal government sued Trump for allegedly discriminating against Black apartment seekers in the 1970s. He was instrumental in promoting the “birther” conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the U.S. And his campaign rhetoric about immigrants and urban communities since 2015 up to November’s election has been derided as prejudiced.
As president, Trump enacted some criminal justice reform laws that civil rights advocates praised but then proposed harsh crackdowns on 2020 racial reckoning protests.
In April, Trump did not dispute the notion that “anti-white racism” now represents a greater problem in the U.S. than systemic racism against Black Americans.
“I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country and that can’t be allowed either,” Trump said during an interview with Time magazine.
Janiyah Thomas, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said Trump’s inauguration would be “monumental, turning a new leaf and ushering in the golden age of America” and said Americans should remember “wise words” from King: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
At the end of his life, King reflected on the early backlash to civil rights, especially with integrated housing developments, interracial marriage and necessary economic and social programs. He expressed frustration with then-President Lyndon B. Johnson for prolonging the Vietnam War rather than making a greater investment in anti-poverty efforts.
“This is where the civil rights movement stands today. We will err and falter as we climb the unfamiliar slopes of steep mountains, but there is no alternative, well-trod, level path,” King wrote. “There will be agonizing setbacks along with creative advances. Our consolation is that no one can know the true taste of victory if he has never swallowed defeat.”

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By The Associated Press

Senate hearings are scheduled this week for several of Trump’s picks for the Cabinet. While many are rapidly gaining support for their confirmation, the remaining still have to go before the committees overseeing the agencies Trump wants them to run.
Here’s the latest:
Scott Bessent’s confirmation hearing has ended
In his closing remarks, Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo said he’ll encourage other lawmakers to advance Bessent’s nomination.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse brings up analysis of Bessent’s personal taxes and possible conflicts of interest
“We are up to date on all of our taxes,” Bessent said, adding he would shutter his firm if confirmed, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Bessent voiced support for Trump’s promise of no taxes on tips and Social Security
And he said he supports “making auto loans tax deductible once again.”
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked whether Bessent thinks the statutory debt limit should be repealed. Both she and President-elect Trump have called for eliminating the debt limit.
Bessent said in response that if Trump wants to eliminate the debt limit, “I will work with him.”
“The U.S. is not going to default on its debt if I’m confirmed,” he said.
Zeldin has consistently refused to commit to certain policy approaches during his hearing
Instead, he’s promised to follow the law and not prejudge outcomes.
When asked by Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, for example, whether he’d roll back programs that promoted electric vehicle use that Ricketts characterized as harmful, Zeldin stayed vague but acknowledged opposition to a program Trump has also criticized.
“I will tell you that I have heard concerns from you and many others, in this chamber, of how important it is to look at rules that are currently on the book,” he said.
The Biden administration pushed tougher standards for car and truck tailpipe emissions and experts expect the Trump administration to try and reverse these efforts. Trump has falsely characterized these as mandates for electric vehicles.
Bessent talks about central bank digital currencies
Asked by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn about his view on central bank digital currencies, known as CBDCs, and whether he’d continue the Biden administration’s project of looking into the viability of the U.S. implementing a CBDC, Bessent said: “I see no reason for the U.S. to have a central bank digital currency. In my mind a central bank digital currency is for countries that have no other alternatives; many of these countries are doing it out of necessity.”
For the first time in the hearing, Bessent’s sexual orientation is brought up
It was when Bessent said that at 17 years old, he wanted to attend the U.S. Naval Academy but couldn’t because of his sexual preference.
“President Trump chose me, “Bessent said, for Treasury Secretary, “not because of my sexual preference,” but because of his qualifications. “I think it is a tribute to President Trump. He looks at people as people.”
If confirmed, Bessent would be the first openly gay treasury secretary.
Turner’s HUD secretary confirmation hearing has ended
The hearing focused on homelessness, affordability, the lack of housing supply and building and zoning regulations.
Turner was also pressed for specifics on how he would reform HUD’s massive portfolio of housing subsidies, with Democrats repeatedly asking if he supports Section 8 voucher programs. Turner didn’t commit to increasing the number of vouchers, which is a longstanding priority for Democrats.
Republicans focused on how Turner can support deregulation to spur development and increase the nation’s housing stock. The first Black person selected to be a member of Trump’s second term cabinet was also asked about Obama- and Biden-era initiatives to curb housing discrimination.
Burgum asked about leases for oil and gas development on federal lands
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell asked Burgum about prioritizing existing leases for oil and gas development on federal lands, as opposed to opening up more land to new leasing.
Burgum said “we always want to prioritize those areas that have the most resource opportunity for America with the least impact on lands that are important.”
“We can do a lot more without touching or even being visible to any of the people that are concerned about land use,” Burgum said.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee raised the controversial creation and expansion of national monuments under the Antiquities Act — such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — an issue he said has become a political football over recent presidents changing those monuments’ boundaries.
Burgum said the original intent of the 1906 law was for “Indiana Jones-type archaeological protections” of objects within the smallest possible area.
Later he praised the uses of public lands, including outdoor recreation and oil and gas production benefiting local economies.
Would Bessent recommend cutting Medicaid?
When asked whether he’d recommend cutting Medicaid, Bessent stammered slightly and said “I am in favor of empowering states. In some states that will be an increase and some states that will be a decrease.”
Asked whether he would recommend cuts to Head Start, Bessent declined to answer and said “I don’t understand the budget ramifications.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders asks Bessent about Biden’s claim of an oligarchy
Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders, a new member of the Senate Finance Committee, asked Bessent about wealth inequality and started with a speech about the concentration of ownership of the media and the information Americans receive.
“Would you agree with President Biden that an oligarchy is taking shape in America?” Sanders asked.
“The billionaires you listed make the money themselves,” Bessent said. “I would note that President Biden gave a presidential medal of freedom to people who qualify” for Biden’s definition of an oligarch, Bessent added.
Bessent asked if he believes the Federal Reserve should be independent
In response, Bessent: “Of course and I actually believe the notion that I said President Trump should have influence comes from a highly inaccurate WSJ article.”
Asked by Republican Sen. Todd Young about conducting an impartial review of the Nippon Steel deal, Bessent said: “President Trump has also most recently spoken out against the deal.”
“It is currently in litigation. If it reappears, CFIUS will conduct the same review it always does.”
Turner addresses immigration at his housing secretary confirmation hearing
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno asked how the number of illegal immigrants have affected housing affordability. Turner called it “a great burden” on HUD as an agency, especially as a homelessness issue.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, implored Turner to protect U.S. citizens in HUD housing even if undocumented people were in their household. Only people legally in the country can receive HUD subsidies, though Trump’s first administration had tried unsuccessfully to limit their eligibility if they live with people who may not have approved immigration status.
Turner responded that he would uphold the laws on the books. “We do not like to tear up families, but we have an obligation to serve the American people,” he said.
Burgum doesn’t plan on trying to convince Trump about the benefits of wind power
Independent Sen. Angus King asked Burgum if he would do so during his confirmation hearing Thursday. King noted that Burgum knows the benefits of wind power since he’s from North Dakota, which gets more than one-third of its electricity from onshore wind turbines.
Burgum replied that the electric grid needs more resources that provide power continuously, as opposed to “intermittent” sources such as solar and wind that fluctuate.
Trump vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He tasked a New Jersey congressman and vocal critic of offshore wind with writing an executive order he could issue to halt wind energy projects. Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he emailed that draft order to Burgum.
King also asked Burgum if he would commit to continuing with offshore wind leases that have been issued. Burgum said projects that make sense and are already in law will continue.
The Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia aren’t aggressive enough, Bessent says
“The tragedy going on in Ukraine is one of the greatest tragedies of my adult life,” Bessent said.
He said the Biden administration’s sanctions weren’t strong enough.
“I believe the previous administration was worried about raising U.S. energy prices during an election season and I’m perplexed to see National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on his way out the door raising the sanctions level on Russian oil companies.”
Bessent says Social Security and Medicare funding ‘would not be touched’
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who’s co-sponsored a bipartisan bill related to preserving the solvency of Social Security, asked whether Bessent would touch Social Security or Medicare funding.
“Those would not be touched,” Bessent said. “One of the tragedies of the blowout of the budget deficit is we need to get our short term house in order.”
Zeldin talked about the need to hear from everyone
Asked how the EPA under Zeldin would work with businesses, workers and industry affected by environmental regulations, he said it would be a big mistake to not hear from everyone.
“The worst thing I could possibly do, that the EPA could do, is turn a blind eye to great, substantive feedback that will better inform our decisions,” he said.
Sen. John Cornyn asks about US investments in China and Bessent’s view on transparency requirements
The Treasury secretary serves as the chair of the CFIUS committee which screens foreign investments inside the U.S. as well as U.S. investments in China.
Bessent said China “has the most unbalanced economy in the history in the world,” and “we should have a very rigorous screening process for anything that could be used, in AI, quantum computing, and chips.”
Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for interior secretary, talks about goals for US to achieve ‘energy dominance’
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for interior secretary says the U.S. can leverage energy development to promote world peace and make life more affordable.
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum described Trump’s aspiration to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” as a way to counter demand for fossil fuels from autocratic nations such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela that have fewer environmental safeguards.
Burgum’s claims were challenged by Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who said burning more fossil fuels would exacerbate climate change. She noted that military leaders have described global warming as a national security threat that could trigger instability and wars.
The Interior Department oversees vast public lands and offshore areas that account for about a quarter of U.S. annual oil production. The Biden administration sought to restrict oil and gas lease sales from public lands and waters, but Trump has vowed to increase drilling for oil and gas.
Bessent says the nation has a spending problem
Sen. Chuck Grassley brought out a poster that argues “revenues are historically steady regardless of marginal tax rates.”
Bessent responded: “We do not have a revenue problem in the U.S. we have a spending problem.”
Sen. Wyden’s first question to Bessent was about the future of the Direct File system
Wyden asked him if would preserve the program, adding that millions of taxpayers would be eligible for it.
“Will you commit to keeping Direct File up and running?” Wyden asked.
“I will commit for this tax season that Direct File will be operative,” Bessent responded. “If confirmed I will consult and study the program.”
Bessent talked about his background, growing up in South Carolina and getting involved in finance
“We must work to get our fiscal house in order,” Bessent said in his opening statement. “As we begin 2025, Americans are barreling towards an economic crisis towards year end.”
He called for an extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“For too long, our nation has allowed unfair distortions in the international trade system,” he said.
Scott Turner’s NFL ties highlighted as he seeks confirmation for housing secretary
Turner, who also served in the first Trump administration, spoke before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee for his nomination as leader of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sen. Tim Scott, the Republican chairman of the committee, in his opening remarks took a pause before mentioning the former name of the Washington football team where Turner once played. Turner noted he was drafted in the 7th round of the NFL, “which is the last round for those that don’t know,” a quip that got some chuckles in the room.
Lee Zeldin faces questions about climate change science during his hearing
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked Zeldin basic questions about climate change science, including what impact carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have on the atmosphere.
“I don’t sit before you as a scientist,” Zeldin said, but after a follow-up question said carbon dioxide traps heat.
He said he was committed to achieving clean water and air, but didn’t provide specifics about what he would do to address climate change. President-elect Donald Trump has cast doubt on basic climate science and promised to enact an energy policy that expands oil and gas development.
Sen. Lindsay Graham introduced Bessent, who’s seated next to him
“We need a Secretary of Treasury who knows what he’s doing, has the trust of the president and loves his country,” Graham said. “Your ship came in with this guy.”
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden says voters won’t get the change they voted for in Bessent or Trump
“In a Trump economy, the winner’s circle is small,” Wyden, a ranking member of the committee said in his opening statement.
To bring in revenues, Wyden said the Trump administration “will be offering across the board tariffs,” he said “trillions of dollars in new taxes paid for by working Americans.”
Wyden brought up the IRS’s new Direct File system — where taxpayers can file their taxes directly to the IRS for free — and the threat it faces to be defunded.
“The software giants want Direct File killed. Republicans are on their side, so they might get their way. It could cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone,” he said.
Committee chair says Trump ‘made an excellent choice in nominating you for Secretary of Treasury’
Republican Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo opened Bessent’s confirmation hearing, telling him: “It’s clear you followed applicable law and provided thousands of pages of documentation that substantiate your positions.”
“President Trump made an excellent choice in nominating you for Secretary of Treasury,” Crapo told Bessent.
Confirmation hearing begins for Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary
Bessent is joined by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Before the hearing began, Bessent walked around the room shaking hands with senators before being seated.
Confirmation hearing begins for Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency
Lee Zeldin, a close and longtime ally of President-elect Donald Trump, has promised to dismantle “left wing” environmental regulations as the next leader of the EPA.
His confirmation hearing is getting started and he’ll likely face questions about Trump’s rejection of climate science and how the agency can adhere to its mission to protect human health and the environment if Zeldin’s focus is on economic growth and dismantling regulations.
Today’s confirmation hearing schedule
10 a.m.: Doug Burgum, Interior Department The former governor of North Dakota and businessman appears before members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who will consider his nomination as interior secretary, the chief steward of U.S. public lands. Burgum, who endorsed Trump after ending his own 2024 presidential bid and campaigned for Trump, has also been tapped to lead the National Energy Council. Trump has said the council will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world.
10 a.m.: Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Department The former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Trump’s first term appears at a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Turner is a professional mentor, pastor and former Texas House member. HUD is charged with addressing the nation’s housing needs and fair housing laws, and oversees housing for the poorest Americans.
10 a.m.: Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency The former New York congressman appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The agency is tasked with matters pertaining to environmental protection, conducting assessments, research, education and maintaining and enforcing national standards.
10:15 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Day 2 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
10:30 a.m.: Scott Bessent, Treasury Department The billionaire money manager from South Carolina takes questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee. Bessent would be the first openly LGBTQ+ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration. The treasury chief helps formulate financial, economic, and tax policy, and manage the public debt.