As President-elect Trump seeks to get his cabinet (and other key nominees) in place as soon as possible after he is inaugurated, the process around nominee hearings becomes the most significant hurdle going forward. Traditionally, hearings are used to better understand how the nominee will make decisions and to provide insight into their record. They are also used to better understand where they stand on controversial positions of the President. Armed with background checks of all the nominees, this will be an opportunity for Republicans to defend the President’s nominees on the public stage and for Democrats to highlight flaws in background or policy. Expect this to be part substance and part theatre (maybe more of the latter than the former). Here is what to know as this process starts:
Expect Fireworks: Given the number of non-traditional nominees that will appear in committees in the months ahead, Democrats will make sure (1) their most controversial policies or history will be exposed, (2) Republicans are forced to defend these policies and backgrounds, and (3) everything will be associated with the President’s agenda.
Expect Non-Answers: Many nominees will avoid answers that will commit them to policy positions or actions down the road. Democrats will get frustrated, but it is fairly normal in these types of hearings. The less nominees speak, the better for them. So, expect circular conversations without a lot of commitments.
Expect Gotcha Questions: Sen. Kennedy (D-LA) has cornered the market on questions that highlight a nominee does not know enough about the job they are seeking (i.e. a judicial nominee who does not know judicial procedure) or statements they have made (i.e. statements online about Democrats). Democrats will find every opportunity possible to undermine the qualifications of some nominees and do so in a way that can drive viral videos. These hearings will provide plenty of opportunity for these types of questions.
Expect Some Hearings to be Easy: For the less controversial nominations (i.e. Governor Bergum, Senator Rubio, etc.), the process will be fairly easy. Of course, they will still have a robust hearing, but they will be less adversarial and political. They may even be somewhat substantive.
Nominee hearings will help highlight the direction of federal Departments and agencies and might expose new information about nominees. However, most nominees get across the finish line and it is extremely rare that a failed cabinet nomination is not ended prior to an actual vote on the Senate floor. These hearings will be interesting to watch, but most will not change the course of these nominations.
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