Trump’s cabinet nominations will begin confirmation hearings this week. The hearings will be held from Tuesday, January 14th, through Thursday, January 16th. Apparently, the Senate doesn’t like to do serious work on Mondays or Fridays!?! Maybe those are travel days to and from their home states??
Article II is the section of the Constitution that deals with the executive branch. In Section II, it makes clear that while the president is the executive, he hires certain positions spelled out in the Constitution and others established by law with the “advice and consent” of senators. If the Senate is in recess, the president can make temporary appointments.
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states:
“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
In modern times, a president-elect nominates his picks for top officials ASAP after winning the election. Planning should ideally begin before Election Day.
Oversight committees in the Senate can conduct confirmation hearings before Inauguration Day on January 20. They can refer nominees to the full Senate or quick votes when the new president takes the oath of office. But things frequently take a lot longer.
For all the drama generated every four years by Cabinet appointments, defeat of a nominee by a vote in the Senate is extremely rare.
The only time a nominee by a new president was rejected by a Senate vote occurred in 1989, when George H.W. Bush nominated John Tower, a former senator from Texas, to be his secretary of defense.
Tower was undone by stories of his excessive drinking and what press reports at the time referred to as “womanizing,” and which Pentagon files back then documented as placing “special attention on the secretaries” as an arms negotiator in Geneva. [Perhaps Pete Hegseth should take note of this fact.]
So, without further ado, here is the list of scheduled confirmation hearings for this week:
9:00 a.m. – Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs
A former congressman from Georgia, Mr. Collins is a Baptist minister and former US Navy chaplain and Air Force Reserve colonel. He was one of Trump’s most vocal supporters during the first impeachment hearing.
Mr. Collins will appear before the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee. The VA provides health care to former members of the US armed forces.
9:30 a.m. – Pete Hegseth – Department of Defense
Former “Fox & Friends” weekend host and Army National Guard combat veteran. His fitness for the cabinet position has come into question amid allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.
Mr. Hegseth will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Pentagon chief’s authority over the US military is second only to that of the president’s.
10:00 a.m. – Doug Burgum – Interior
Former governor of North Dakota and businessman, Mr. Burgum has also been tapped to lead the National Energy Council. Trump has said the council would seek to establish US energy dominance around the world.
Mr. Burgum will appear before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The U.S. Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. It is the chief steward of US public lands.
So tomorrow will have a fairly “light” schedule with only three confirmation hearings. At this time, it is not anticipated that any of the hearings will require multiple days. The most controversial of the three nominations is certainly Pete Hegseth. I suspect the hearing could be a bit contentious given allegations made to date. Certainly, there will be questions about the allegations that he will have to answer. I’m looking forward to watching some of it.
In My Humble Opinion 