Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Contentious Senate Hearings Begin

Contentious Senate Hearings Begin

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as defense secretary set the stage for a series of confirmation hearings ahead of the inauguration on January 20.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Democrats raised concerns about Hegseth’s qualifications, particularly regarding his experience in managing nonprofit finances and his personal conduct. They argued that he does not meet the expected standards for a leader at the Pentagon.


Meanwhile, Trump’s allies have been actively working to sway Republican senators, including potential threats to support primary challengers against those who oppose the nomination.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed optimism about Hegseth’s chances for confirmation. "I think he's got a [confirmation] path," he toldFox News ' Laura Ingraham.

Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday, Jan. 15

9 a.m.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, picked to lead the Department of Homeland Security, is slated to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

9:30 a.m.

Pam Bondi, picked for attorney general, is slated to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee

10 a.m.

Sen. Marco Rubio, secretary of state pick, is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Former Rep. John Ratcliffe, pick for CIA director, is set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee

Former Rep. Sean Duffy, pick for transportation secretary, will appear before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, pick for energy secretary, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee

1 p.m.

Russell Vought, pick to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, is set to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee

Thursday, Jan. 16

10:00 a.m.

Former governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum, Interior Department pick, appears before members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Trump's first term, Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Department pick, appears at a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee

Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency pick, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

10:15 a.m.

Pam Bondi returns before the Senate Judiciary Committee

10:30 a.m.

Billionaire money manager, Scott Bessent, Treasury Department pick, takes questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee.

What is the Cabinet?

Presidents guide the federal government with the support of a team of close advisers and the leaders of various federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice and the Pentagon.

While certain positions, like the vice president and the White House chief of staff, do not require Senate approval, most cabinet positions do. Some roles, such as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations or the CIA director, have been considered at the Cabinet level in some administrations but not in others.

Why does the Senate get a say?

Article II is the section of the Constitution that deals with the executive branch. 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.

How does the process work?

A president-elect nominates his picks for top officials after winning the election.

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.

Some reporting for this article was curated from the Associated Press, NPR, and NBC.

Read More

Texas Democrats and Talarico Fight Back

Many seats remain empty during the House meeting's call to order at the state Capitol on August 05, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Texas Democratic lawmakers have fled the state in an attempt to protest and deny quorum for votes on a proposed Republican redistricting plan.

Getty Images, Brandon Bell

Texas Democrats and Talarico Fight Back

Texas State Rep. James Talarico and more than 50 other Democratic Party legislators fled their state to break quorum and prevent Republicans from passing a gerrymandered map. He and other Democrats are risking arrest, fines, bomb threats, being hunted by the FBI, and even expulsion from their seats. Talarico recently addressed 3,000 Texans, where he reminded us that as a community, it takes “ganas,” or desire, to get things done.

He’s right that “ganas” are needed as the fight against redistricting in Texas continues. Republican gerrymandering threatens the upcoming midterm elections, and we must come together on the issues that will impact our Black and Brown communities.

Keep ReadingShow less
America’s Gerrymandering Crisis: Why Voters Are Losing Power in Texas and Beyond

People rally during the "Stop the Trump takeover" demonstration outside of the State Capitol on August 16, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Over 200 nationwide demonstrations occurred today against the Trump administration's newly introduced redistricting plans.

Getty Images, Brandon Bell

America’s Gerrymandering Crisis: Why Voters Are Losing Power in Texas and Beyond

Voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around. The Texas gerrymander and the partisan war it has triggered signal an extraordinarily dangerous period for American democracy.

Gerrymandering leads to less choice, less representation for voters, and less accountability for politicians. It also produces more polarization, as party primary voters rather than general election voters have the loudest say. And voters of color all too often suffer the most as their communities are cynically sliced and diced to engineer partisan advantage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Texas Redistricting Showdown: Why the Fight Over Five GOP Seats Reveals a Broken System

A person views a map during a Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting public testimony hearing on August 07, 2025 in Austin, Texas

Getty Images, Brandon Bell

Texas Redistricting Showdown: Why the Fight Over Five GOP Seats Reveals a Broken System

The fight over congressional redistricting in Texas continues to simmer. Democratic state representatives fled the state to block the passage of a rare mid-decade, Republican-drawn map that would give the GOP an additional five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives if put into effect before the midterms. In response, Governor Greg Abbott threatened to remove the absent members from their seats and arrest them.

The Texas Democrats responded with “come and take it,” an overt reference to a slogan from the Texas Revolution. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who welcomed the fleeing Texas legislators to his state, called Abbott a “joke.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hands protecting a child. A child being protected.

Just three months into his second term, the Trump Administration terminated 373 grants worth about $500 million from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

Getty Images, Mary Long

Youth Injustice: Trump Administration Cuts Violence Prevention Programs

This essay is part of a series by Lawyers Defending American Democracy where we demonstrate the link between the administration’s sweeping executive actions and their roots in the authoritarian blueprint, Project 2025, and show how these actions harm individuals and families throughout the country.

Just three months into his second term, the Trump Administration abruptly terminated 373 grants worth about $500 million from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The grants were ended without any prior notice and affected programs across the country that provide support for the complete range of department activities, including juvenile and youth justice, violence prevention, child protection, policing and prosecution, and victims’ services.

Keep ReadingShow less