Senate Republicans are kicking off their race to quickly confirm President Trump’s Cabinet nominees, and they’re starting with his national security team.
Senators began Monday evening by unanimously confirming Marco Rubio to be secretary of State. Also on Monday, Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe and Homeland Security secretary nominee Kristi Noem all advanced out of committees, teeing up floor votes.
But any plans by the GOP to move quickly could get gummed up if Democrats work to slow the nominations, potentially giving Trump and his team an early headache as they push to get his top national security officials in place sooner rather than later.
“We’ll find out what the traffic will bear,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill. “We’re prepared to move and do what’s necessary to get them on the forward path.”
With Rubio out of the way, the attention shifts to Ratcliffe, Hegseth and Noem.
Of that group, Ratcliffe is by far considered the most likely to win a sizable amount of Democratic support and be confirmed quickly with their help. The Senate Intelligence Committee approved his nomination in a resounding 14 to 3 vote, with five Democrats voting in favor, more than those who were in opposition.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the panel’s vice chairman, voted for the former Director of National Intelligence (DNI), but told reporters that he was unsure if Democrats would yield back time to move quickly on his nomination.
Noem and Hegseth were also both voted out of committee on Monday night, but Democrats are widely expected to force Republicans to take the scenic route in order to confirm both of them.
Hegseth advanced on a strictly party-line vote, but Noem picked up significant bipartisan support, advancing 13-2.
However, Republicans are vowing to use every tool in the box, including threatening weekend work in order to get the Cabinet in place.
“We’ll cut through. We’ll just have to. We’ll just lock up the floor,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said. “And we’ll be here a lot of late nights and weekends. … That’s fine.”
“We’re just getting started,” Cramer continued, adding that he has not yet gotten guidance from Thune on possible work this coming weekend.
It is unclear who would be next on the Cabinet to-do list after the national security foursome, though a series of nominees are set to potentially make it out of committee in the coming days.
Pam Bondi and former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) both have votes scheduled for Wednesday on their respective panels. Bondi is Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Justice, while Duffy is in line to become secretary of Transportation.
Former Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) also have committee votes scheduled on Thursday for their nominations to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency, respectively.
And Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to run the Office of Management and Budget, advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Monday on a party-line vote but also has a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.
What remains unclear is the future of two of Trump’s more controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) to become DNI and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Gabbard, who is believed to be the nominee most in danger of Trump’s slate, has yet to have a date set for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a panel member, told The Hill that some remaining paperwork issues have held up her process.
“I don’t know when that will occur right now,” Rounds said. “It should be coming up shortly.”
Kennedy’s delay is also due to paperwork, with one Senate GOP aide pointing to his complex financial background.
The earliest either could happen is mid-next week as hearings must be noticed one week in advance.
Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to lead the FBI, meanwhile, was put on the backburner by the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of Bondi. However, the panel is expected to move on him in the near future.
“He’s ready,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who brought Patel into a Senate GOP’s luncheon last week and is confident in his confirmation chances. “He’s pretty much cleared [paperwork wise] and he’s had great meetings with all the Republican members and I think many of the Democratic members.”
But for now, it’s the initial national security team that’s the priority for Republicans as they try to get them processed as quickly as possible.
“It shows a very quick continuity of order that is important for the rest of the world to see,” Rounds said. “The practical side is you need those folks in a position to make decisions quickly in times of national emergency and you avoid the national emergencies if you’re prepared,”
“And the way you do that is getting these guys in quickly,” he added.
