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Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be defense secretary, arrives for his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing. He’s surrounded by journalists and people in attendance for senators’ questioning.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary, arrives for his Senate confirmation hearing. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK’S CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
Tuesday begins the largest and most public test of the incoming Trump administration yet: the first confirmation hearings for his Cabinet nominees.
 
Trump is moving fast. The Senate historian’s office confirmed to us that the seven hearings set for Wednesday alone will mark the most confirmation hearings in a single day in at least the past 40 years.
 
With that in mind, we thought it might be helpful to put together a kind of cheat sheet to help watch the proceedings.
 
The basics

  • For most Trump nominees, these hearings are the primary remaining hurdle.
  • For those facing the most scrutiny, these hearings are make-or-break situations.
  • Most hearings will have multiple rounds of questions.
  • Senators generally ask questions in order of seniority, if all members are there for the start. If just a few are in attendance at the beginning, the committee chair can call senators in order of attendance.


Below are the times for all of the hearings. We’ve added a bit more about a handful of hearings that are likely to get the most attention.
 
A caveat that the hearing schedule is subject to change. For the latest and greatest info on the schedule this week, click here.
 
Note: All times listed below are Eastern.
 
Tuesday
Watch the full confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth in the player above.
9:30 a.m. — Pete Hegseth, defense secretary. This is poised to be the most high-profile hearing of the week.
 
An early hearing highlight to Tuesday’s proceedings was Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., asking Hegseth about his past public comments that women didn’t belong in combat. Hegseth said as defense secretary he would ensure women were “treated fairly, and with dignity, honor and respect,” just like everyone in uniform.
 
Shaheen didn’t seem convinced, citing his past statement that suggest otherwise. “I appreciate your 11th hour conversion.”
 
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., joined the Democratic chorus that grilled Hegseth for his past statements about women in combat roles. She repeated one of Hegseth’s public remarks.
 
“‘We don’t want women in the military, especially in combat.’ What a terrible statement,” she said. “So please do not deny that you’ve made those statements. You have.”
 
For their part, Republican senators entered letters from women military officers supporting Hegseth into the official record.

Wednesday
 
This is the big day of the week. Brace — and pace — yourselves.

9 a.m. — Kristi Noem, homeland security secretary. The South Dakota governor sits in her hearing to become Homeland Security secretary. The job can be both difficult and impactful. This hearing will tell us a good deal about Noem’s approach, including on immigration.
Watch the hearing in the player above.
9:30 a.m. — Pam Bondi, attorney general. Another very high-profile hearing. It is expected to last both Wednesday and Thursday.
  • Who is the nominee? Former attorney general of Florida
  • Committee: Senate Judiciary Committee
  • Background: Read AP’s profile of Bondi. And here is a view from across the pond, from the BBC.
  • Republicans to watch: Bondi has wide support from Republicans on the committee. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., may be worth watching to see if they attempt to deflect any criticism on Bondi or Republicans by turning the tables on Democrats.
  • Democrat to watch: Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is often a standout in hearings.  
  • New senator to watch. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., will be fascinating to watch. Trump has indicated he may want the Justice Department to take action against Schiff and others who were on the Jan. 6 Select Committee.

10 a.m. — Marco Rubio, secretary of state. The Florida senator faces the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The job is the highest-ranking agency post in the country, and Rubio is expected to be confirmed easily. Still, the hearing will be an important measure of Trump foreign policy on a wide variety of fronts — from Syria to Ukraine — at this moment.
 
10 a.m. — John Ratcliffe, CIA director. The former Congressman was briefly director of national intelligence under Trump. He will go before a Senate Intelligence Committee known for its bipartisan, cooperative spirit. But Ratcliffe’s past views can be a lightning rod.
 
Other hearings Wednesday:
  • Transportation Secretary nominee Sean Duffy at 10 a.m.
  • Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright also at 10 a.m.
  • Russell Vought, hoping to reclaim his job as director of the Office of Management and Budget, at 1 p.m.

Thursday 
 
The week closes with four additional nominees.
Watch the hearing in the player above.
10 a.m. — Doug Burgum, interior secretary. The North Dakota governor and former presidential candidate is scheduled to go before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, despite Democratic objections to how the GOP handled the process. He is nominated to be interior secretary but Trump has made it clear he wants Burgum to head up his energy policy team as well.
 
10 a.m. — Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator. The former New York congressman testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
 
10 a.m. — Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development secretary. The former Texas lawmaker faces the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
 
10:15 a.m. – Bondi has Part 2 of her hearing with the Senate Judiciary.
 
10:30 a.m. — Scott Bessent, treasury secretary. The hedge fund founder takes his confirmation hearing seat in his bid to become the next money man in Washington.
 
But how to approach all this?
 
You have a few options: Choose one a day or go all in, with multiple viewing screens at a time — either on laptops or home televisions.
 
If you want extra credit, you can prepare with our handy guide to every Trump Cabinet nominee.
 
Remember: We are here to watch all of this.
 
So you always have the option of simply waiting until the evening and we will bring you the highlights and smart discussion, on air and online.
 
A POSTSCRIPT
 
We asked your thoughts on how you’d like us to cover Congress. We received hundreds of responses, with many thoughts on how to report on politics in this next era.
 
Each email matters to us and we are still working through them. But stay tuned for a look at our community thoughts and how it could form our coverage.
 
PBS News’ Joshua Barajas contributed to this report.
Mark your calendars. This week is packed with other notable events:
  • On the Way Out: President Joe Biden plans to deliver a prime-time farewell address at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Watch live here.
  • On the Way In: Confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks continue. Here’s the full schedule.
  • Watching the High Court: The Supreme Court is hearing some major cases this week, including a major First Amendment case and a “false statement” case that could have an effect on prosecuting white-collar crime.
  • Inauguration Day: Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president on Monday, Jan. 20. (This is less than a week away.) Watch live here.

HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT HEGSETH
Watch Pete Hegseth’s opening statement in Tuesday’s hearing in the player above.
By Matt Loffman
Senior Producer, Elections
 
Many of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Cabinet posts face critical tests in the U.S. Senate this week as confirmation hearings kicked off Tuesday.
 
One of the first nominees to answer questions is also one of the most controversial: Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to head the defense department.
 
Since Trump announced Hegseth in November, the former Fox News host and military veteran has faced public scrutiny about his limited management experience. Senators questioned Hegseth on Tuesday about his financial oversight of nonprofits he oversaw, his views on women in combat, reports about his consumption of alcohol while at work and allegations of sexual assault at a 2017 Republican conference. Hegseth continued to deny any wrongdoing and called the questions part of a “coordinated smear campaign” or categorized them as  “anonymous smears.”

Despite months of reporting on Hegseth’s qualifications, a majority (55 percent) of Americans, including 54 percent of Republicans, say they are unsure of their opinion about him or don’t have enough information to develop one, according to a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll set to be released Wednesday.

Image by Jenna Cohen/PBS News
“It takes a while for some of this stuff to punch through and then to stick,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.

In the poll, conducted before confirmation hearings began, 19 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Hegseth, while 26 percent have an unfavorable view of the nominee.
More on the hearings this week:

THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA QUESTION
By Matt Loffman
Senior Producer, Elections
 
As Trump Cabinet nominees begin their confirmation hearings this week, it’s a race against the clock to see if any will be confirmed to assume office by the first day of Trump’s term.
 
Our question: How many Cabinet officials were approved by the Senate on Jan. 20, 2017, the first day of Trump’s first term?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: Which president took the oath of office inside the Capitol Rotunda after the bitter cold outside forced the proceedings indoors?
 
The answer: Ronald Reagan. The second Reagan inauguration in 1985 was one of the coldest on record, according to a Library of Congress science librarian. A private ceremony was held inside the White House that day, which was also a Super Bowl Sunday. Reagan became the first sitting president to do the game’s coin toss — via satellite — from the Oval Office. The public ceremony, the next day, was moved inside to the Capitol Rotunda.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Brenda Radford and Bob Schmid!
 
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.

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