The Senate GOP is planning a confirmation hearing blitz to meet Trump's ambitious targets.

This week, the Senate will hold hearings for Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and Kristi Noem.

The Senate GOP is planning a confirmation hearing blitz to meet Trump's ambitious targets.
The Senate GOP is planning a confirmation hearing blitz to meet Trump's ambitious targets.

This week, the Republicans will conduct confirmation hearings for over a dozen prominent picks for President-elect Trump's next term, including Pete Hegseth, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.

On Tuesday, Hegseth, Trump's Secretary of Defense nominee, will undergo his first hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee at 9:30 a.m., where he will be grilled by both Democrats and Republicans.

Trump appointed Rubio as his Secretary of State and Noem as his Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem will testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday at 9 a.m., while Rubio will appear before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at 10 a.m.

Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio
A rigorous week of confirmation hearings will begin on Tuesday. (Reuters)

On Tuesday, there will be hearings for Doug Collins to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to become Secretary of the Interior.

On Wednesday, hearings will be held for Trump's appointees: Pam Bondi for attorney general, John Ratcliffe to direct the CIA, Russell Vought to lead the OMB, Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation, and Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy.

US-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVES
Trump tapped Bondi to be his attorney general.  (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Thursday, Eric Turner, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Scott Bessent, Trump's pick for Treasury Department head, will have hearings.

Republicans are rushing to confirm Trump nominees before the hearing blitz.

President-elect Donald Trump
Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

On "Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street" on Friday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., expressed his hope that his Cabinet nominees, including Secretary of State and Department of Homeland Security, would be confirmed promptly, either on the day of the inauguration or within the first week. He also mentioned the Department of Defense as one of the nominees he hoped would be approved.

Sen. Rand Paul
Paul said he hopes to confirm key nominees the day Trump is sworn in.  (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

I hope we can act swiftly and avoid complicating the matter. While I remain hopeful, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. Regarding the two projects I'm responsible for, there has been no opposition from the Republican side. Additionally, there are signs that we may receive support from Democrats as well.

Republicans are highly driven to approve Trump's national security team, particularly after the recent terror attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, where 14 people were killed and 35 were injured.

by Julia Johnson

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