News

• The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Avril Haines, Biden’s nominee for director of intelligence, on Friday. The event will take place virtually using WebEx.

• Biden announced additional appointees to the Domestic Policy Council, Office of Domestic Climate Policy, The White House Council on Environmental Quality, National Economic Council, and the Presidential Personnel Office on Thursday.

• Biden also announced more appointees to the National Security Council on Wednesday, including Ann Neuberger in a new cybersecurity-focused position on the council.

• Due to security concerns, Biden will no longer take the Amtrak from Delaware to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.

• Google is pausing ads across its channels, including YouTube, that reference impeachment, inauguration, or protests at the Capitol. “We regularly pause ads over unpredictable, ‘sensitive’ events when ads can be used to exploit the event or amplify misleading information,” Google said in a statement.

Transition in Context: Senate Committees and the Confirmation Process

Nominations for Cabinet secretaries and other appointments requiring Senate confirmation are reviewed by committees before going to the floor for a full vote. Committees investigate nominees, hold hearings, and take a majority vote on whether to report the candidate to the Senate favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation.

Different committees have jurisdiction over different positions. For example, the Senate Intelligence Committee will review nominees for CIA and national intelligence leadership, while the Energy and National Resources Committee will preside over nominations to the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

For a complete list of the jurisdiction of each Senate committee, click here.

What We're Reading

• Government Executive: How Biden Can Use Special Authorities to Deploy His Team on Day One
• NPR: Biden Adds Homeland Security, Cyber Heft to White House Team
• Politico: Biden looks to Obama alums for help selecting temporary Cabinet secretaries