The back-to-back Senate hearings are likely to prove the first major test of Trump’s second term in office, as some of the president-elect’s selections have stoked controversy on both sides of the aisle in recent months.
The Republican Party currently maintains a slim majority in the Senate of 53 to 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats. As such, the ability of the Republican majority to push through Trump’s nominees will provide a key read of just how far his influence on the party extends.
A failure to secure nominations for some key positions, such as secretary of defense, could likewise hamstring the first weeks of Trump’s second term in office by limiting the president-elect’s ability to carry out sweeping institutional changes in government.
The 13 Trump administration appointees facing confirmation hearings in the coming week include:
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense Hegseth will face the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Jan. 14. A former officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, Hegseth served on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the Bronze Star on two occasions before moving on to become a co-host of various Fox television programs.
Hegseth has been at the center of several controversies in recent months, including for his reported role in a veterans’ charity group that went bankrupt, an alleged history of alcohol abuse, and a sexual assault settlement with an unidentified woman in California, which Hegseth did not disclose to the Trump transition team before accepting the nomination.
Hegseth has said that, should he be confirmed to head the Pentagon, he will remove officers who championed diversity initiatives and will seek to end women’s ability to serve in combat roles.
Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior Burgum will face the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 14. Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. Before his political career, Burgum served in a management position at Great Plains Software. He stayed on for several years as a vice president after the company was sold to Microsoft, before co-founding a venture capital firm.
Trump has said that Burgum will chair a new National Energy Council, which will consist of all government entities involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation of all forms of U.S. energy. As chair of the new council, Burgum would also have a seat on the White House National Security Council.
Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Collins will face the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Jan. 14. He previously represented Georgia as a Republican in the House from 2013 to 2021. Before that, he served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was deployed to Iraq in that capacity.
He sat on the House Judiciary Committee and served as vice chair of the House Republican Conference.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Rubio will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 15. A senator for Florida since 2011, Rubio has made a name for himself for his tough stance on the Chinese regime and other communist nations.
Rubio has served as the vice ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, where he has sought bipartisan support for countering the Chinese regime as a top priority.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security Noem will face the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Jan. 15. As governor of South Dakota, Noem deployed National Guard troops from her state to assist with Texas’s Operation Lone Star effort to deter illegal immigrants at the southern border.
Trump has said that Noem will work closely with incoming border czar Tom Homan to protect U.S. citizens from threats related to illegal immigration and smuggling.
Pamela Bondi, Attorney General Bondi will face the Senate Judiciary Committee in two separate hearings on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16. As Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019, Bondi focused on countering drug trafficking and reducing overdose deaths due to fentanyl and other opioids.
Bondi also served on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2019, and has been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against the president-elect.
John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Ratcliffe will face both open and closed hearings of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Jan. 15. An attorney by trade, Ratcliffe previously represented Texas in the House from 2015 to 2020 and was director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration.
A former member of the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, Ratcliffe was among the lawmakers questioning the foundations of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign in summer 2016.
Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy Wright will face the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 15. The founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, Wright has spent his career specializing in fossil fuel extraction, and fracking in particular.
Wright has characterized the shift to renewable energy sources as a politically-driven “mis-investment” and is expected to help push through Trump’s goal to increase U.S. oil drilling.
As secretary of energy, Wright would also oversee several national security-oriented institutions, including the Los Alamos Laboratory and the nation’s nuclear stockpiles.
During the first Trump administration, Vought developed the Schedule F plan, which would allow the president to designate wide swathes of government workers as political appointees, and thereby grant the president authority to fire them. The plan was not implemented and was repealed by President Joe Biden.
Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation Duffy will face the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Jan. 15. He previously represented Wisconsin in the House from 2011 to 2019, before moving on to a co-host role with Fox Business.
Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury Bessent will face the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 16. A Wall Street veteran and founder of international investment firm Key Square Group, he served as an economic adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Bessent and Trump have suggested that his priorities as Treasury secretary will include maintaining the U.S. dollar’s position as the global reserve currency and invigorating growth in the private sector by extending the tax cuts of Trump’s first administration.
Bessent has also championed cryptocurrency as a means of getting youth engaged in the market, and has suggested that Trump’s many proposed tariffs could be implemented gradually to prevent a sudden spike in inflation.
Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Zeldin will face the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Jan. 16. He represented New York in the House from 2015 to 2023 and ran for governor of New York in 2022. Zeldin served on the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees. Before that, he served in the New York state Senate.
Zeldin also served in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2007 as an intelligence officer and military attorney for the Judge Advocate General Corps. He continues to serve in the Army Reserve.
Scott Turner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Turner will face the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Jan. 16. Turner served in Trump’s first administration as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
Before his appointments, Turner served in the Texas House of Representatives and was a professional athlete. He played football for the NFL’s Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Denver Broncos.
He is also the founder and CEO of the Community Engagement and Opportunity Council, a family foundation dedicated to revitalizing communities across the nation through sports, mentorship, and economic opportunities.
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