Trump nominees face tough Senate hearings this week. California senators are skeptical
Senate committees Tuesday begin hearings on whether to confirm a host of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees–and California’s two senators will be two of the most outspoken critics on his controversial picks..
Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both Democrats, get a chance to question some of them during committee confirmation hearings.
The Senate will hold hearings this week on 12 nominees. Because of all the controversy, the chamber is not expected to confirm most of the appointees quickly after Trump takes office next Monday.
Padilla and Schiff are unlikely to ultimately be pivotal votes, since Republicans will control 53 of the Senate’s 100 Senate seats. But they can raise issues, stir controversy and rally public opinion through tough questioning.
The senators stress they don’t plan on trying to torpedo every nominee. The longstanding Senate tradition is that the public has spoken in its choice of a president, and that president deserves his own team.
“I’m not going after every crazy squirrel that gets released from Trump world,” said Schiff. “You pick the fights that really matter.”
Confirmation hearings and votes will go on for weeks. Here’s a rundown of those nominees that the two senators have discussed so far:
Pam Bondi, attorney general
Padilla and Schiff are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which plans confirmation hearings on the former Florida attorney general Wednesday and Thursday.
Bondi was nominated after Trump’s first choice, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., withdrew as allegations swirled about his personal conduct.
“Nice try,” Padilla said after Trump nominated Bondi. After Gaetz, he said on MSNBC, the Trump team tried to make Bondi “look normal.” Bondi was Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019.
He has several questions about her, notably her support for Trump claims that the 2020 presidential vote was rigged. “She should have known better as a former attorney general,” Padilla said.
He wants to know “is she going to be an independent attorney general upholding the Constitution of the United States, or does she plan to do Trump’s personal bidding? We know what Trump wants.”
Robert Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“The radical conspiracy theories embraced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are a clear and present danger to public health,” Padilla tweeted on X. “His nomination to lead HHS is a threat to children and families everywhere.”
Schiff also had little sympathy for Kennedy. They met years ago and had a disagreement over vaccination policy.
Schiff supports vaccination, while Kennedy has said vaccines are often dangerous and not effective. No hearing on Kennedy is scheduled this week.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Padilla said he had “a ton of concerns” and Schiff said he had “grave concerns” about the former “Fox and Friends” weekend talk show co-host.
The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Hegseth is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning. Neither California senator is a committee member.
Schiff cited Hegseth’s “personal conduct.” Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer, is said to have been a heavy alcohol drinker, but has denied such allegations. He told senators last month that he would not drink if confirmed.
He also has been accused of sexual misconduct with a woman while attending a California Republican event. Hegseth has said the affair was consensual. No charges have been filed.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence.
The former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, who has been an enthusiastic Trump supporter in recent years, was the first name mentioned when The Bee asked Schiff and Padilla who concerned them most.
“She has no experience in the intelligence community. She didn’t even serve on the intelligence committee,” said Schiff, who chaired the committee from 2019 to 2023 and was its top Democrat in the four years before that.
Gabbard, an Army reserve officer who served in the Iraq war, would oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies and prepare Trump’s daily intelligence briefings.
“She has a questionable fondness for dictators who gas their own people and poisoning their own people like Bashar Assad and Vladimir Putin,” he said.
She met with former Syria President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus seven years ago. He has been accused of atrocities against thousands of his own people. She has been criticized for being too friendly with Russia, questioning U.S. efforts to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.
No hearing is planned this week.
Kash Patel, FBI director
“This is someone profoundly unqualified and is a terrible choice. He’s a conspiracy theorist,” Schiff said. He knew Patel when the nominee was a Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee.
Padilla had similar views. “Kash Patel has repeatedly promoted conspiracy theories about a hostile ‘deep-state’ within the very agency he’s been nominated to lead,” the senator said.
Patel will likely face a judiciary committee hearing, probably next month.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Both senators had praise for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, with Schiff calling him “eminently qualified.” Padilla has worked with Rubio as a Senate colleague for four years.
Rubio will face a confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Neither California senator is a committee member.
Also up this week: The nomination of Lee Zeldin, a former New York Republican congressman, to head the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which includes Padilla and Schiff, will hold the confirmation hearing Thursday.
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 3:21 PM.
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