Trump cabinet picks Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, others faced a full day of questions from senators

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, asserted he wouldn’t seek to shut down the government amid funding clashes. 

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., claimed that Vought has previously “called for brinksmanship around government shutdowns,” and balked at bipartisan options that would keep the government functioning. Specifically, she pointed to an op-ed Vought authored in 2011 that claimed Republicans should brace themselves to shut down the government. 

“Why have you repeatedly advocated the use of the threat of a government shutdown as a political bargaining chip?” Hassan said. 

“I don’t think I have been a person that has wanted to have government shutdowns,” Vought said. “I’ve had to be the one that kept the government open consistent with the law for the longest shutdown in history. I know the impact it has on the federal government.” 

Vought previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, and was the acting director of the office during the 35-day shutdown during the Trump administration. 

Vought appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that access to the Artic has become "incredibly critical" as Russia and China eye new navigation routes that could reduce travel times between Russia and Asia by 40 percent.

"Putting aside all the things that are going on in the media, I think we need to understand that Greenland has been strategically important to the United States and to the west for a very long time," Rubio said, referencing President Truman's interest in buying the Danish territory in 1946.

"Yes, the access to the minerals on Greenland are critically important. But as more navigable space is opening up in the Arctic -- particularly this northern passage that goes from Russia...to Asia, and could cut transit times by as much as 40 percent -- the Arctic is going to become incredibly critical."

Rubio wasn't specifically asked during the intense five hour hearing -- where he was questioned on complex geopolitical issues spanning the globe -- about President-elect Donald Trump's recent comments on the Artic nation. But he brought it up when pressed about U.S. security interests in the Artic, in particular as they relate to China.

"We have to have a presence there," Rubio said. "We have to have partners along the Arctic region that will join us in ensuring that the Arctic region is open for free and flow of navigation as these as these passages open up, because global trade is in many ways, going to be infused by it."

"Now we have the opportunity to see it for what it is...one of the most critical parts of the world over the next 50 to 100 years...[and] whether there's going to be freedom of navigation in the Arctic and and what that will mean for global trade and commerce," he added.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sparred with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, over the constitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act. 

Congress has the power to authorize the federal government's spending and the Impoundment Control Act, passed in 1974, dictates that Congress may oversee the executive branch’s withholdings of budget authority.

“No, I don’t believe that it’s constitutional,” Vought responded when Blumenthal asked him if he believed the law adhered to the U.S. Constitution.

“I am astonished and aghast,” Blumenthal said, citing the Supreme Court ruling Train v. New York. 

In that case, the Supreme Court determined the Environmental Protection Agency must use the full funding included in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, even though then-President Richard Nixon issued orders to not use all the funding. 

“I think our colleagues should be equally aghast, because this issue goes beyond Republican or Democrat,” Blumenthal said. “It’s bigger than one administration or another. It’s whether the law of the land should prevail, or maybe it’s up for grabs, depending on what the president thinks.” 

Blumenthal then said he hoped Vought would reconsider his position, but that he believed Vought’s answer should disqualify him for the position. 

Vought appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term. 

Trump attorney general nominee Pam Bondi said Wednesday that she “looks forward” to hearing FBI nominee Kash Patel’s remarks about QAnon before the committee— a sign of the tense hearing Patel himself is likely to face later this month.

QAnon, a conspiracy group that has sought to advance claims of an anti-Trump “deep state” tied to satanism and child molestation, has been linked to a rash of individual criminal actions, including the 2016 “Pizzagate” shooting at the D.C.-area pizza parlor Comet Ping Pong, considered to be a predecessor to the movement. 

The exchange came after the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen.. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., noted Patel “has said and done some things which are impossible to understand and justify,” pointing in particular to his remarks on QAnon. 

QAnon’s “core belief is that a cabal of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters are embedded within our government and are conspiring against president elect Trump,” Durbin explained, noting, “They asked Mr. Patel about it and he said, quote, ‘I agree with a lot that the movement says,’ end of quote.”

“Does that sound like a good preparation to run the FBI?” he said of Patel’s remarks.

“Senator, I don't know anything about” that,  Bondi said, noting that they are going to have to ask Patel about the comments.

“We will,” Durbin said, adding that until the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee get answers to those questions, "I don't know many people on this side of the table [who will] give him an unequivocal endorsement.”

The QAnon remarks, coupled with a so-called “enemies list” that also came under scrutiny Wednesday, is “what you expect of the Stasi,” Durbin said. “This is what you expect of secret police. It is not what you expect of justice in America, as you've even described it at the table today.”

“So I would say this unequivocal support of Mr. Patel should at least have some reservation until he explains some of these outrageous positions he has taken," Durbin said.

“I look forward to hearing his testimony about QAnon in front of this committee,” Bondi told him in response.

Later in the hearing, Bondi stressed the importance of a free press, noting that reporters should be free to do their jobs— adding more daylight between herself and Patel, who previously vowed to go after journalists before later appearing to walk back the remark. 

Asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., whether she would push back against Patel as FBI director if he tried to go after the media, Bondi said that the two had not discussed the issue directly, but stressed that “going after the media just because they're the media is wrong— of course.”

In re whether she respects the importance of the free press, Bondi responded, "Absolutely."

Written by Breanne Deppisch

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, vowed to empower U.S. taxpayers before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday. 

“We have to use taxpayer dollars wisely because inflation driven by irresponsible federal spending taxes Americans twice,” Vought told lawmakers. “The forgotten men and women of this country those who work hard everyday in cities and towns across this country, deserve a government that empowers them to achieve their dreams.”   

“While the Office of Management and Budget may not be a household term, the agency’s work is profoundly one that impacts their lives,” Vought said. 

The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch. 

Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the OMB in his first term, founded the Center for Renewing America in 2021. The organization claims its mission is to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God,” according to its website. 

Vought also served as the vice president of Heritage Action for America, and authored a chapter of Project 2025, a political initiative The Heritage Foundation released in 2023 that called for policy changes including eliminating the Department of Education, cutting DEI programs, and cutting funding for Medicare and Medicaid.

Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine applauded Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for being "extremely well prepared" for his confirmation hearing as the next Secretary of State -- a stark contrast to his tense engagement with Pete Hegseth during his hearing one day prior.

"We're used to seeing nominees who know a lot about a couple of things, and sometimes, who know very little about virtually everything," he said. "But I think you've seen a hearing with a nominee who, agree or disagree with the points he's made, he's not talking out of a briefing book.

"He's not having a thumb through a binder to decide how to answer a particular question," Kaine continued. "I've always been struck by working with Senator Rubio on this committee, since I came to the Senate in January 2013 that he has a very well developed sense of the world and a passion in all corners of it."

A number of President-elect Donald Trump's choices for his second-term Cabinet have seen their scheduled confirmation hearings postponed, with Senate committees citing outstanding documents. 

Hearings for Doug Collins, tapped to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was chosen for Secretary of the Interior, were set for Tuesday as part of the Trump transition team and Senate Republicans' ambitious effort to confirm Trump's Cabinet. However, they were delayed at the last minute.

This meant two of the three slated Tuesday hearings were pushed, leaving only one hearing for Secretary of Defense pick Pete Hegseth that day. 

Here are all of the Cabinet-level nominees who don't yet have hearings scheduled:

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Department

Tulsi Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Department

Howard Lutnick, Commerce Department

Linda McMahon, Education Department

Kash Patel, FBI

Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Department

Elise Stefanik, U.N. ambassador

A confirmation hearing was held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for Trump's energy secretary pick, Chris Wright, on Wednesday.

Wright was questioned for over two hours on issues ranging from climate change to President Biden's regulations on household appliances.

Multiple Democrats on the committee claimed that the Los Angeles fires, which have destroyed over 10,000 buildings and homes in the area, were caused by "climate change." 

"Despite the misinformation that's circulating here in the Capitol, into California, and everywhere in between, it's clear that these fires only reach the size and the scale that they have because of unseasonably dry vegetation and extremely high winds, both of which are a direct result of climate change," Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said during the hearing. 

Several groups of climate protesters disrupted the hearing, video captured by Fox New Digital shows. "Are you gonna ask any questions or just softball on the climate this entire time," said a third protester who was removed from the hearing room.

At one point, nearly a handful of protesters stood up at the same time, holding up signs that read "big oil profits, LA burns."

Republicans slammed President Biden's energy policies over the years, specifically calling out his ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, regulations on household appliances, blocking coal mining in the west, and most recently blocking drilling along the coast.

"Over the past four years, Americans have suffered under a lot of policies that have made life more difficult, more uncertain, and more expensive," Chairman Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said in his opening remarks.

Wright said that he has identified three "immediate tasks" where he will focus his attention if nominated: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs, and increasing production in America.

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump's picks to lead the Department of Justice, was involved in a sharp clash with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as Schiff quizzed Bondi over whether she would prosecute Trump's political opponents.

Schiff, a vocal critic of the president-elect, asked Bondi about whether she would investigate former Special Counsel Jack Smith and also former Rep. Liz Cheney.

Bondi described the questions as "hypotheticals" and declined to answer.

"You know what we should be worried about, the crime rate in California is through the roof. Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average," she said.

When Schiff asked her if she would tell Trump he lost the 2020 election, she accused Schiff of "playing politics" and of leaking Rep. Devin Nunes' memo.

Schiff shot back, asking her if she would advise against blanket pardons by President-elect Trump, and suggesting she would not be able to look at every file on day one. Bondi was furious.

"You were censured by Congress for comments just like this," she said. "So reckless."

Former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., was flanked by both sitting Wisconsin senators in a bipartisan show of support to kick off his Wednesday confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee.

Duffy, who served five terms after flipping a seat held by Democrat David Obey for decades, later moved on to work at Fox News; most recently co-hosting "The Bottom Line" with Dagen McDowell on FOX Business.

"I’m humbled by the fact that President Trump has nominated me to this very important position," Duffy said in his opening statement.

He also introduced the eight of his nine children present – as well as his wife, "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.

Duffy pledged support for the federal program that ensures essential air service to far-flung communities in Alaska and other sparsely-populated states.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., brought up the importance of making sure Hurricane Helene victims are "not forgotten."

Blackburn noted Interstate 40 – a crucial transcontinental artery from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Barstow, California, remains washed out across the Great Smoky Mountains.

During the September hurricane, a stretch of the eastbound lanes in Haywood County, North Carolina, collapsed into the then-raging Pigeon River, stymieing regional commerce and access to mountain communities.

Parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee continue to see long-term closures of major arteries and communities trying to rebuild."

We’re continuing to try to work through this process to get that rebuild, but we need to know this will be front and center with you so we can get that interstate rebuilt and reopened," Duffy told Blackburn.

Sen. Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he will continue to back the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria who have been crucial in fighting ISIS.

"We...need to recognize that there are implications to abandoning partners who have at great sacrifice and threat actually jailed the ISIS fighters," he said. "One of the reasons why we were able to dismantle ISIS, because they were willing to host them in jails at a great personal threat to them."

Rubio acknowledged the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime has brought with it new security concerns for Washington, particularly as the takeover was achieved by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is a designated terrorist group in the U.S.

"The new people that are in charge there are not going to pass an FBI background check. Okay? We recognize that these are not people we know a lot about, and their history, as you said, is not one that gives us comfort," Rubio said. "That said, it is in the national interest of the United States, if possible, to have a Syria that's no longer a playground for ISIS that respects religious minorities.

"[And] at the same time, is not a vehicle through which Iran can spread its terrorism to Hezbollah and destabilize Lebanon," Rubio continued. "It's in the national interest of the United States, it's in the national interest of virtually every nation state in the Middle East."

Trump attorney general nominee Pam Bondi on Wednesday sparred with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., over the issue of "birthright citizenship," or the extension of U.S. citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who are born in the U.S. Wednesday— one of the most heated exchanges during the confirmation hearing, which is expected to continue into the afternoon.

Asked by Sen. Padilla Wednesday whether Bondi believes birthright citizenship "is the law of the land," and if she would defend regardless of the immigration status of a children's parents, Bondi appeared to duck the question, saying only that she would study the matter after confirmed to head up the Justice Department.

She told Padilla that she would love to meet with him to discuss the issue further.

"You still need to study the 14th amendment of the Constitution?" Padilla interjected, quipping, "That is not helping me have more confidence in your ability to do this job." 

"What other, immigration related question I'll steer clear of?" Padilla asked sarcastically, before asking again: "Can you please tell us, do you agree with the statement that immigrants are, quote, 'poisoning the blood of our country?' Yes or no?"

Bondi responded, "I did not say that."

"I'm asking if you agree with it," Padilla said tersely. "Yes or no?"

Bondi then began to explain that her grandparents as teenagers immigrated from Sicily— to which Padilla interrupted, "Do you agree with it?"

The two repeatedly attempted to talk over one another, before Bondi ultimately said in conclusion:"My great grandparents came here, immigrated to this country from Sicily, [and] recently, went and found each of their birth certificates."

"We are a nation made up of immigrants," she continued. "Do I believe immigrants are poisoning our country? No."

Children born the jurisdiction of the U.S. have long been granted citizenship, though President-elect Donald Trump said recently that he would issue an executive order that would end the practice for millions of children born in the U.S.

Written by Breanne Deppisch

After 15 months of fighting, Hamas and Israel have reached a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, Fox News has confirmed. But some Republicans are urging caution - the deal will lead to offering Hamas hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for its hostages back.

"The president's envoy to that region who is charged - Steve Witkoff - who is charged with being an envoy towards reaching an accommodation between Israelis and Saudis has been working cooperatively and together with the Biden administration," Rubio said during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Steve Witkoff has been a critical component of it and he has been involved in it from day one."

Committee Chair Jim Risch announced the ceasefire in the middle of the hearing, with a word of caution: For the edification of the Committee, I've just been advised that there's been a ceasefire announced in Gaza.  Before we all celebrate though, we're going to want to see how that executes."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters of the deal: "Any time we're able to get hostages back, that's a good thing. The question is, what's the price we're paying?"

The Senate will likely have a few Cabinet nominees who are relatively non-controversial. In the interest of time, senators could agree to expedite the process and confirm an individual nominee or several nominees by voice vote or unanimous consent. As long as there are no objections among all 100 (currently 99) senators.

This speeds things up in the Senate, where floor time is at a premium.

However, there’s a good reason why some Democrats may oppose a streamlined process for this.

It’s not because they’re trying to clog up the Senate plumbing. Democrats may demand a roll call vote on nominees they support in order to show that they voted in a bipartisan fashion to confirm some of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees.

Democrats are likely to reject the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Defense secretary. However, other relatively easy to confirm nominees like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., picked to serve as secretary of state, or Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary, could require roll call votes.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Chad Pergram.

"No federal agency impacts Americans’ daily lives and loved ones like the Department of Transportation," former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said in his opening statement, adding that President-elect Trump "is a builder" and knows the importance of maintaining and building critical infrastructure.

During the hearing, he and several lawmakers shared personal stories of being involved in accidents including with drunk drivers.

Duffy said his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, survived a deadly head-on collision -- which brought highway safety to the forefront in his family.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., disclosed that he, too, was involved in an accident with a drunk driver 30 years ago, and does not like to talk about it.

Lujan appeared to get briefly emotional as he addressed Campos-Duffy in connecting over their shared experience – and praised Duffy for his stated goal to be remembered as a secretary who improved transportation safety.

Later in the hearing, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., also stressed the importance of highway safety and disclosed he had been hit by a car when he was 5 years old.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. should be open to "any arrangement" that helps safeguard against a nuclear Iran, but warned the U.S. must not make "concessions."

"We should be open to any arrangement that allows us to have safety and stability in the region, but one in which we're clear eyed," he said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. "Any concessions we make to the Iranian regime, we should anticipate that they will use, as they have used in the past, to build their weapons systems and to try to restart their sponsorship of Hezbollah and other related entities around the region, because they seek to become the dominant regional power."

While Rubio came out strong against the Iranian regime and its support of terrorist networks across the region, he emphasized that Tehran's geopolitical stances are not reflective of the Iranian people.

"I don't know of any nation on earth in which there is a bigger difference between the people and those who govern them, than what exists in Iran," the Secretary of State hopeful said. "And that's a fact that needs to be made repeatedly.

"In no way is the clerics who run that country representative of the people of that country and of its history and of contributions it's made to humanity," Rubio added.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who was tapped to lead the Department of State under the second Trump administration, was repeatedly interrupted by protesters during his Senate hearing on Wednesday. 

One female protester was heard shouting at Rubio in Spanish, while at least two men, including one wearing pink, were seen being pulled out of the hearing by Capitol Police after shouting. 

"I get bilingual protesters," Rubio quipped after a protester yelled at him in Spanish, earning laughter from the crowd.

Ahead of the hearing kicking off on Wednesday morning, Fox News Digital spotted Code Pink protesters wearing bright pink with shirts reading, "hands of Iran," and "stop killing the children of Gaza." They also sported anti-Rubio stickers on their headbands and hats.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Colton.

Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi faced repeated questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members Wednesday over her ability to resist any efforts to use her role to do the political bidding of President-elect Donald Trump, including questions over whether she would say no to direct requests from the incoming president.

During her confirmation hearing, Bondi sought to strike down any notions that she would use the role to go after Trump’s opponents.  

“If you are confirmed as attorney general, will you pledge to fairly and faithfully uphold the law regardless of party?” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., asked Bondi.

“So help me God,” Bondi said.

Earlier in the hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT., invoked the ousting of former Trump-era attorney general Jeff Sessions, who was fired by Trump after recusing himself in the Trump-Russia investigation. He also highlighted the truncated tenure of former attorney general Bill Barr, who resigned in December 2020 amid tensions over Barr’s letter that the Justice Department had not found evidence of widespread fraud in the presidential election. 

“You know, we have some history here with your predecessors,” Blumenthal told Bondi. “Do you really think that you can avoid the disgrace that they encountered, or the repercussions from the White House if you say no to the president?”

“And so my question to you is – can you say no to the president,” he asked, in the event he asks you to do something unethical or illegal?”

In response, Bondi rejected his assertion that she is under pressure to say or do certain things. “No, I don't,” she said. “I sit up here and speak the truth. I'm not going to sit up here and say anything that I need to say to get confirmed by this body.”

If confirmed as attorney general, she said, she will ensure the law is upheld, including by the Justice Department and the FBI, under the leadership of Trump’s director nominee, Kash Patel.

Asked by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, whether she would prosecute a litany of Justice Department officials, including former special counsel Jack Smith, current Attorney General Merrick Garland, or former Rep. Liz Cheney, Bondi refused to take the bait, noting that, she will not answer hypotheticals.

“No one has been prejudged or nor will anyone prejudge," she said.

Written by Breanne Deppisch

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio issued a stark warning in his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State on Wednesday and told senators that if the U.S. does not drastically drop its reliance on China, it will become dependent on it for "everything that matters" in less than a decade.

"If we stay on the road we're on right now, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not," he told Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Everything from the blood pressure medicine we take, to what movies we get to watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for it," Rubio warned. "They have come to dominate the critical mineral industry supplies throughout the world.

"Even those who want to see more electric cars, no matter where you make them, those batteries are almost entirely dependent on the ability of the Chinese and the willingness of the Chinese Communist Party to produce it and export it to you," Rubio continued. "If we don't change course, we are going to live in a world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis, from our security to our health, will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not.

"That's an unacceptable outcome," Rubio added.