Three of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks prepared to face skepticism and intense grilling from Democratic senators during their confirmation hearings Thursday.
What we’re following:
1. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s second hearing: Kennedy will have the second of two confirmation hearings for his Health and Human Services Secretary nomination. He will appear before the Health Committee a day after his hearing before the Finance Committee.
2. Tulsi Gabbard for DNI Secretary: Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, is expected to face tough questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee over past comments about Russia and a 2017 visit with Syria’s now-deposed leader.
3. Kash Patel’s hearing: Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, will likely encounter deeply skeptical questioning from Democratic senators Thursday about his loyalty to the president and stated desire to overhaul the bureau.
Here's the latest:
Under questioning on Army training accidents from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll said that from what he’s seen, Wednesday night’s collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet over the Potomac River was “an accident that seems to be preventable.”
Driscoll said there are appropriate times to take risks and there are inappropriate ones.
He told senators he would work with the Senate Armed Services Committee to examine operations.
“I think we might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take a training risk, and it may not be near an airport like Reagan.”
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said that despite several meetings with Gabbard, he remains concerned about her past actions and comments and how that could jeopardize America’s standing on the world stage.
Warner said these concerns “lead me to question whether you can develop the trust necessary between us and our allies.”
“If they stop sharing that intelligence with the United States, we are less safe,” Warner said.
Cotton is defending Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies, saying Gabbard has served the U.S. and passed all the necessary background checks for this role.
“Some of my Democratic colleagues may criticize Ms. Gabbard’s statements and actions since she saw the light and left the Democratic Party,” Cotton said. “But I sincerely hope that no one will question Ms. Gabbard’s patriotism and integrity.”
Cotton said he can only laugh at some critics who say that Ms. Gabbard has unconventional views.
Cotton’s opening statement at Gabbard’s hearing takes aim at the position and structure of the office that was born out of 9/11 intelligence failures to coordinate among the many agencies that make up the U.S intelligence community.
The job of Director of National Intelligence has sometimes been criticized for having lots of responsibility without a lot of power. The job involves trying to coordinate between 18 different agencies that are nestled under a half dozen different cabinet agencies, which all have their own interests and leadership and priorities.
Cotton is vowing to try to reform the office and send some of its personnel back to their home agencies.
Kennedy is getting tough questions on how he would lead the country’s vaccination programs from a crucial Republican senator.
Cassidy leaned his previous experience as a physician and how he led vaccination campaigns that he called life-saving.
“What will you tell the American mother, will you tell her to vaccinate her child or not?” asked Cassidy, whose vote could determine whether Kennedy’s nomination survives.
Durbin’s opening statement shows how Democrats hope to use Patel’s litany of provocative statements against him.
Patel has appeared on dozens of podcasts over the years and published a book called “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for Our Democracy,” leaving behind an extensive record of his controversial views.
“He traffics in debunked conspiracy theories that serve or benefit his political beliefs,” Durbin said.
Durbin highlighted Patel’s comments about the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. Patel suggested that the FBI was “planning January 6 for a year” and helped produce a song called “Justice for All,” that was recorded over a prison phone line, sung by a group of Jan. 6 defendants.
Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, began his remarks by warning about the FBI’s past surveillance of civil rights leaders and political opponents during the tenure of J. Edgar Hoover. He noted that the Senate had passed reforms in 1976 “intended to insulate the position from political influence.”
“During the time I served on this committee, I’ve had the opportunity to consider four FBI director nominations. Each one was a Republican, and I voted for all,” said Durbin. His dismissed claims that former President Joe Biden had “weaponized” the FBI for political ends as Patel has previously argued.
chatting with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona in the Senate hearing room ahead of Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence.
McCain has been a vocal supporter of Gabbard since she was nominated by Trump to be a member of his Cabinet.
Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll opened his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services only hours after the crash of an Army helicopter into a passenger flight over the Potomac River.
Driscoll spoke about the many victims who died in the crash and guaranteed that he’ll be committed to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
▶ Read more on developments in the plane crash
Kennedy is now appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, known as HELP.
It’s a crucial day for both Kennedy and the committee chairman, Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who could be an all-important swing vote for confirmation.
Cassidy, a doctor himself, closely questioned Kennedy yesterday before the Senate’s Finance Committee, while his Republican colleagues gave the nominee a warmer reception.
It’s close quarters today, with senators, aides, reporters and Kennedy’s supporters packed into the 5th floor hearing room of a Senate office building.
Chairman Grassley says Patel has faced “unfounded attacks” and “false smears.” But Grassley said Patel has “precisely the qualifications we need at this time when the FBI is not being respected by our public.”
Grassley is touting Patel’s background managing large intelligence and defense bureaucracies while fighting for government transparency.
“Public trust in the FBI is low,” Grassley said, repeating Republican claims that the agency has been used in recent years as a political weapon. “It’s your job to restore the public trust and return the FBI to its core mission of fighting crime.”
A large group in the room are wearing shirts from Moms Demand Action, a liberal gun safety group. Others are wearing pro-Second Amendment clothing.
They include Sebastian Gorka, Ric Grennell and former Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who are present in the hearing room with him.
President Donald Trump’s pick to become FBI director is expected to face tough questioning from Democrats about his loyalty to the Republican president and his staunch criticism over the years over the agency he’s been tapped to lead.
ranging from assault to harassment. Bureau leaders pledged to eliminate the longstanding problem, but an Associated Press investigation found nearly 300 sexual misconduct allegations involving agents and staff since its 2021 launch of an agency-wide crackdown.
The FBI says the numbers show reforms are working to make reporting misconduct easier. Critics say the bureau is struggling to protect women in a male-dominated workplace.
“Enough is enough,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, told the AP in a statement. The Senate Judiciary chairman vowed “to get answers and root out further FBI misconduct.”
Patel’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment ahead of his confirmation hearing.
▶ Read more on the AP investigation into sexual misconduct inside the FBI
All eyes will be on the chairman of the committee, Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and his opening remarks.
At Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee, it was Cassidy who pressed Kennedy the most. When asking him to detail his plans for Medicare and Medicaid, Kennedy responded with few answers and misstated some basic facts about how the federally funded programs work and how many people they serve.
Cassidy’s vote is crucial for Kennedy since he also serves on the finance committee that will decide whether the health secretary nominee makes it to the Senate floor.
Vice President JD Vance posted a message on Truth Social sending condolences after officials confirmed all passengers on the American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter near DC had died.
“A heartbreaking tragedy for Wichita, and for our entire country,” he said. “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
Kennedy was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities he tried to make the case to become Trump’s health secretary.
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee expressed hope Kennedy could help reduce chronic diseases and health care costs. Democrats repeatedly used Kennedy's own quotes and transcripts from his books and public appearances to pin him down on issues including vaccines and abortion.
▶ Read more about some of the key takeaways from Kennedy’s first confirmation hearing.
To get to the U.S. Senate for a vote of his nomination, Kennedy needs to hearings before the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee as well as the finance committee.
Oversight of the Health and Human Services agencies is shared between the two committees. The finance committee is involved because the sprawling $1.7 trillion agency is responsible for a huge part of the nation’s economy — overseeing insurance for nearly half the country, funneling billions of dollars to the states for Medicaid and providing health insurance for the nation’s older Americans through Medicare.
Meanwhile, the HELP committee also has oversight of the agency’s program and agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration.
Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a Capitol Hill staffer who helped investigate the Russia probe.
Patel has called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who have sought additional resources for the bureau.
And though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel has said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. He will appear before the Judiciary Committee.
Gabbard is a former Democratic House member from Hawaii who has been accused of echoing Russian propaganda.
She unsuccessfully sought the 2020 presidential nomination and left the party in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him.
Gabbard has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. If confirmed, she would come to the role as an outsider compared with her predecessor, Avril Haines, who spent several years in top national security and intelligence positions. She will appear before the Intelligence Committee.
The nominations process for Trump’s appointees is picking up pace, with some confirmed by the Senate and other hearings scheduled for more of his Cabinet picks.
Here’s the schedule for Thursday Jan. 30:
4. 9:30 a.m.: Kash Patel, FBI
5. 10 a.m.: Tulsi Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
6. 10 a.m.: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Heath and Human Services
