• Confirmation hearings: President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, fielded questions about her loyalty to Trump and promised there will “never be an enemies list” at the Department of Justice if she is confirmed. Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio — Trump’s choice for secretary of state — appeared in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he described his positions on foreign policy and ongoing global conflicts.
• Who else is on the Hill: John Ratcliffe, Sean Duffy, Chris Wright, and Russell Vought — Trump’s choices for CIA director, transportation secretary, energy secretary and Office of Management and Budget head, respectively — also had hearings Wednesday.
•Biden’s closing message: President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. In a letter, he wrote it has been the “privilege of my life” to serve the country.
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Senate Democrat upbeat about Bondi following hearing, says she did a "good job"
From CNN’s Manu Raju
Sen. Peter Welch questions former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded positive about Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, around her confirmation hearing. He told CNN she did a “good job.”
Speaking about his fellow Democrats’ concerns about Bondi’s ability to be independent, Welch said, “The president is always going to have somebody that he or she feels comfortable with,” Welch told CNN.
“My concern is the threats Donald Trump has made about going after his political opponents.”
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Rubio says he'll reverse Biden administration sanctions on any Israelis in the West Bank
From CNN’s Michael Conte
Sen. Marco Rubio said he would commit to reversing sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on Israelis in the West Bank if he is confirmed as secretary of state.
“I’m confident in saying that President Trump’s administration will continue to be perhaps the most pro-Israel administration in American history,” the Florida Republican senator said in response to a question from Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz at his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Biden administration has issued a number of sanctions against Israeli groups and individuals in the West Bank for settler actions considered illegal under international law and for violence targeting Palestinian individuals and property.
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Rubio says terms of US turning Panama Canal over to Panama may have been violated
From CNN’s Michael Conte
Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of state, said that the terms under which the US turned the Panama Canal over to Panama may have been violated by the foreign influence exerted over the canal by China.
Rubio said Chinese influence over the canal is a “very legitimate issue,” but that the US still wants to partner with Panama “on a lot of other issues.”
“I hope we can resolve this issue of the canal and of its security and also continue to work with them cooperatively on a host of issues we share in common, including what to do with migration,” Rubio said.
Trump has threatened to demand the return of the major global transit point to US control. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has said the canal and its adjacent zone belong to Panama, and a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China views the canal “as a permanently neutral international waterway.”
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Key GOP senator says she will review Hegseth's hearing this weekend
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who is seen as a swing vote on some of Donald Trump’s more controversial picks, is not tipping her hand on whether she is inclined to support Pete Hegseth, the president-elect’s choice for defense secretary.
Collins said she did not get a chance to watch all of Hegseth’s hearing yesterday, but she plans to review it this weekend.
“I only saw part of Mr. Hegseth’s hearing yesterday. This weekend, I will review the entire hearing, including the provisions that I’ve missed,” she said.
Collins added, “I have been concentrating on the Ratcliffe hearing today. I’m a member of the Intelligence Committee; I participated in the morning session and the afternoon session.” John Ratcliffe is Trump’s pick for CIA director.
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Bondi says she was "horrified" by protests at Supreme Court justices' homes
From CNN’s Tierney Sneed
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi said she was “horrified” by the protestors who demonstrated outside of the homes of Supreme Court justices after the overturning of Roe v Wade and that she would prosecute future protesters.
She vowed to enforce an anti-picketing law that Republicans called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to use to prosecute those who demonstrated at justices’ homes after the high court ruling on Roe in 2022.
RepublicanSen. Marsha Blackburn brought up the protests and Garland’s failure to bring charges under the law, which prohibits picketing outside a court or a judge’s home with the intention of interfering with the administration of justice.
“It horrified me — the protestors outside their houses,” Bondi said. “You can’t do that for a reason, because the justices have to remain safe and unbiased and unprotected from threats. As do we all, but they do enjoy a special protection.”
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Here's what you should know about Day 2 of the confirmation hearings for Trump Cabinet nominees
From CNN's Jeremy Herb
Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees for key roles in the intelligence, foreign policy and law enforcement agencies all pledged to keep politics out of their offices amid concerns from Democrats that the president-elect will carry out his vows to go after his political enemies once in office during a marathon day of confirmation hearings.
The confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks kicked off Tuesday with a highly contentious session for defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. But today, the slate of a half-dozen hearings struck a much more conciliatory tone, where the concerns raised by senators were about the conduct of the president-elect and not the nominees themselves.
Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, repeatedly insisted she would not allow politics to infect her Justice Department — accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of being responsible for politicizing law enforcement against Trump.
Democratic senators made clear they were not going to blanketly oppose all of Trump’s nominees, including their colleague, and secretary of state nominee, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio.
Here are the takeaways from today’s slate of confirmation hearings:
Bondi vows to lead an independent Justice Department: Democrats repeatedly pressed Bondi on Wednesday about her ability to stand up to Trump, who has said he has an “absolute right” to be involved in Justice Department matters and clashed with his attorneys general in his first administration when they did not bend to his wishes. “I will not politicize that office,” Bondi said of being attorney general. “I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.” Bondi also vowed Wednesday to follow the Justice Department’s policy to limit contacts between the White House and the Justice Department.
Rubio voices support for NATO: Rubio, who has served as a senator for more than a decade, may have received the warmest reception from his colleagues when he appeared on the other side of the dais Wednesday as Trump’s nominee to lead the State Department. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Rubio “has the skills” and is “well-qualified to serve as secretary of state.” During questions from senators, Rubio voiced his support for NATO — as well as the bipartisan law he co-sponsored, which states that the US cannot withdraw from the alliance without Senate approval or an act of Congress. Trump has been critical of the alliance.
Ratcliffe pledges an “apolitical” intelligence community: Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Trump’s nominee for CIA John Ratcliffe pledged not to politicize his work and the intelligence that’s produced in the Trump administration. He told the committee he would never allow “political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products.”
In a tense exchange, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Pam Bondi sparred over whether her personal political beliefs would affect decisions on pardons in January 6, 2021, cases and the preservation of evidence from the special counsel investigations into Donald Trump.
During her confirmation hearing for attorney general Wednesday, Bondi accused Schiff of trying to “engage me in a gotcha” over questions of whether she would follow any order from Trump when he is in office.
The series of questioning devolved as Schiff pushed Bondi repeatedly on whether she would recommend blanket pardons for January 6 rioters, questioning her earlier comment that she would review such requests on a “case-by-case basis.”
As Bondi responded, Schiff repeatedly interrupted her, asking how she would have the time to review every case.
“Heck, can I answer the question?” Bondi said. “I would have plenty of staff.”
“I am not going to mislead this body, nor you. You were censured by Congress, senator, for comments that were just like this that are so reckless,” she said. Schiff was censured in 2023, when Republicans accused him of misleading the American people while pursuing a congressional investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign.
The disagreement continued, however, as Schiff pushed Bondi on whether she would “destroy evidence” collected by former special counsel Jack Smith in his 2020 election interference case against Trump.
“Are you frightened because evidence was destroyed against President Trump that was false?” Bondi asked Schiff. “Is that why you are frightened now?”
“Why do you have difficulty answering that question?” Schiff responded.
“I can’t believe you are asking such a question,” Bondi said. “I will follow the law,” she added.
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Asked if she'll uphold birthright citizenship, Bondi says she'll "study" it
From CNN’s Tierney Sneed
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi’s testy exchange with Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla continued when he pressed her about the meaning of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to children born on US soil.
Padilla claimed she had not given him a straightforward answer when he asked her about the constitutional provision in their private meeting and that he had given her the opportunity to research it before the public hearing.
“The 14th Amendment, we all know, addresses birthright citizenship,” Bondi said after her Padilla pushed her on it repeatedly. “I didn’t take your homework assignment, I’m sorry. I was preparing for today.”
He brought up her vows at the hearing to uphold the Constitution and asked if she believed birthright citizenship was the law of the land.
“I will study birthright citizenship; I would love to meet you regarding the birthright citizenship,” she said.
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Confirmation hearing begins for Russ Vought, one of the key authors of Project 2025
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
Russell Vought arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The confirmation hearing for Russell Vought, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, has started.
Senators on the Homeland Security Committee will be asking Vought questions.
Vought was one of the key authors of Project 2025 — the conservative blueprint for a second Trump term that the president-elect tried to distance himself from during the campaign. He served as budget director during the first Trump administration and oversaw a widespread deregulation push.
During Trump’s first administration, Vought made a name for himself as a policy wonk committed to the MAGA movement. The president-elect has repeatedly praised Vought for doing an “incredible” and “fantastic” job at OMB.
Vought also served as the policy director of the Republican National Convention committee that rewrote the GOP’s official platform last year — a sign of how central he is to Republicans’ policy goals.
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Bondi clashes with Democratic senator: "I’m not going to be bullied by you"
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. attorney general in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California repeatedly clashed during a heated exchange about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which Donald Trump lost.
Padilla challenged Bondi during her confirmation hearing Wednesday to provide evidence of mass fraud in Pennsylvania that year. Bondi went to the state in November 2020 as part of the Trump campaign’s efforts to contest and overturn the election results. Bondi and Padilla cut each other off several times during the testy back-and-forth.
“I traveled to Pennsylvania,” Bondi said, before Padilla said, “You’re not answering my question.” After they both talked over each other, Padilla said he was moving on because Bondi was dodging.
At one point, Padilla interrupted his question, raised his finger at Bondi and said, “I’m speaking.”
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Rubio: Designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations is "imperfect tool" but may be "appropriate one"
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Wednesday that designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations is “probably an imperfect tool” because they are “sophisticated criminal enterprises,” but did not rule out the possibility of doing so.
Rubio also did not rule out the use of military force to target the cartels, noting that “that’s an option the president has at his disposal.”
“I think President Trump is someone that never publicly discusses his options and leaves himself the flexibility to act,” he said.
Still, Rubio said his preference “would be that we can work with the Mexicans on this issue cooperatively.”
CNN reported last week that Trump’s team is discussing plans to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, bringing back an idea that failed to come to fruition during his first term in office.
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Blinken says Rubio "understands the imperative of American engagement and American leadership"
From CNN's Michelle Shen
Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered praise for his likely successor, Sen. Marco Rubio, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.
The wide-ranging discussion largely focused on the developing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as the importance of alliances in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Rubio’s confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is ongoing.
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Senate confirmation hearings for Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi resume
From CNN staff
The confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for secretary of state, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, and attorney general, Pam Bondi, have resumed after brief breaks.
Rubio is appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Meanwhile, Bondi is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in one of two confirmation hearings for her this week.
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Trump's transportation secretary pick Sean Duffy wants "tough love" for Boeing
From CNN's Alexandra Skores
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for transportation secretary Sean Duffy discussed troubles with plane manufacturer Boeing and whether he would support more funding for Amtrak at his hearing to lead the Department of Transportation on Wednesday.
Testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee, the former GOP congressman told members that a priority for him would be restoring “global confidence in Boeing.”
Duffy acknowledged he’s previously voted against funding for Amtrak during his stint in Congress but clarified that he represented a Northern district in Wisconsin where there is no Amtrak presence at the time.
“This committee has spoken loudly about Amtrak and rail in their home communities, and so I’m going to continue to work with the committee and abide by the law, enforce the law, and implement the law as passed by this body,” Duffy said.
Kim, a Democrat, also brought up the mysterious drones that were spotted in his state late last year.
“When it comes to flying over people’s personal homes, certainly when it comes to sensitive critical infrastructure, military installations, others, I think there just needs to be a tightening up here,” Duffy said. “And I think that that’s something we can do in a bipartisan (way) … and we need transparency.”
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Bondi declines to say if she would investigate Jack Smith, says "no one has been prejudged"
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi declined to say whether she would investigate former special counsel Jack Smith if confirmed, saying only that “no one has been prejudged.”
Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono pressed Bondi over comments she made during the 2024 election cycle that “bad” prosecutors should be held criminally responsible. Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed Smith, saying he unfairly targeted him.
“Is Jack Smith one of those bad prosecutors that you will prosecute as AG?” Hirono asked.
“Senator, you hesitated a bit when I said ‘the bad ones,’” Bondi responded, before being cut off by Hirono.
“Sometimes bad is in the eye of the beholder, I am just asking whether you would consider Jack Smith to be one of the people,” Hirono said. “How about Liz Cheney? How about Merrick Garland?”
Bondi responded: “Senator, I am not going in to hypotheticals. No has been prejudged, nor will anyone be prejudged if I am confirmed.”
The hearing has adjourned for lunch.
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Bondi and Rubio hearings are in breaks
From CNN staff
The Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US attorney general Pam Bondi and his secretary of state choice Marco Rubio are taking breaks.
So far, Bondi has answered questions about her loyalty to Trump and vowed there will “never be an enemies list” at the Department of Justice if she is confirmed.
She has also made false claims about the phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2021 and falsely claimed “there was a peaceful transition of power,” ignoring the January 6 attack on the US Capitol that disrupted the election certification.
He also voiced his support for the bipartisan law he co-sponsored that prevents the US from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval or an act of Congress.
Rubio pledges to continue longstanding policy toward Taiwan
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of state, pledged to continue longstanding US policy toward Taiwan if confirmed to lead the State Department.
“I was the lead Republican sponsor in reauthorizing and reinvigorating” the Taiwan Relations Act, Rubio said at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
“Multiple consecutive presidential administrations of both parties have made clear that the policy of the United States towards Taiwan is encapsulated not just in the Taiwan Relations Act, but in the Six Assurances, that multiple administrations, including the Trump administration and now the Biden administration, have made clear are our policies,” he said.
Rubio also backed a strategy of deterrence to stop a Chinese invasion of the self-governing island, which Beijing says is a part of China.
“This is a foundational and definitional issue for Xi Jinping personally, and as a result, I think we need to wrap our head around the fact that unless something dramatic changes, like an equilibrium where they conclude that the costs of intervening in Taiwan are too high, we’re going to have to deal with this before the end of this decade,” the Florida Republican said.
The US does not have official relations with Taiwan but has a strong unofficial relationship and provides Taiwan with defensive weapons. Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized its claims to Taiwan.
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Rubio says official US position should be that the Russia-Ukraine war should end
From CNN’s Michael Conte
Sen. Marco Rubio testifies in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said it’s “unrealistic to believe” Ukraine can push Russian forces back to where they were before the 2022 invasion, and that the official US position should be that the war should end.
“It’s … unrealistic to believe that somehow a nation the size of Ukraine, no matter how incompetent and no matter how much damage the Russian Federation has suffered as a result of this invasion, there’s no way Ukraine is also going to push these people all the way back to where they were on the eve of the invasion, just given the size dynamic,” said Rubio at his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio said that he does not believe Ukraine has the manpower to fully push Russia back.
“The problem that Ukraine is facing is not that they’re running out of money, is that they’re running out of Ukrainians,” Rubio said.
Rubio added he and Trump agree about the war needing to come to an end and criticized the Biden administration for not setting a clear “end goal” for the war.
Such a position would differ from the outgoing Biden administration, which has maintained that negotiations on ending the war should be left up the Ukrainians.
Rubio said that he wanted to make sure Ukraine had leverage in negotiations, but that both Ukraine and the US would have to make concessions to Russia.
“There will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation, but also by the Ukrainians and the United States,” Rubio said.
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Bondi, evolving from her position in court, says she "will follow the law" on special counsels
From CNN’s Katelyn Polantz
Bondi testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, said during her confirmation hearing Wednesday that she “will follow the law” on special counsels.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware asked Bondi directly about her position opposing the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Trump, and she responded, “I will follow the law.”
The issue of special counsels is one of the biggest questions hanging over the next era of the Justice Department, and Bondi’s approach could signal an openness to again using the prosecutors on politically charged grand jury probes. (She said Wednesday she would not allow investigations that target individuals for political reasons.)
Some context: Attorney General Merrick Garland – and Donald Trump’s Justice Department during his first term – repeatedly used special counsel prosecutors for politically charged investigations, including Smith, Robert Hur, David Weiss, John Durham and Robert Mueller.
But Trump has attacked those appointments in court during his personal cases.
A Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have said they disagree with these special counsel appointments, when the attorney general appoints a private lawyer to lead a special prosecutors’ office that hasn’t received explicit congressional approval. The Justice Department is still challenging in court the agency’s power to use special counsel’s offices in Florida.
Bondi’s response to Coons acknowledged the ongoing court challenge, before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where she has signed an amicus brief opposing the Smith special counsel appointment.
Yet she also told Coons that at this time, she’d follow where the courts stand – which across the country, and especially in Washington, DC, have allowed special counsels’ criminal cases to move forward, after other judges found their appointments and their work to be sound. The nationwide law currently is that the attorney general can bring in a private citizen to be a special counsel.
“I will follow the law, and I will consult with the appropriate ethics officials,” Bondi said Wednesday, on the power of the attorney general to appoint a special counsel.
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Bondi does not explicitly say that Joe Biden won the 2020 election
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono pressed President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general Pam Bondi on who won the 2020 presidential election — a question Bondi refused to directly answer.
“Ms. Bondi, we want an attorney general who bases decisions on facts. So I want to ask you a factual question. Who won the 2020 presidential election?” Hirono pressed.
“Joe Biden is the president of the United States,” Bondi responded.
“Miss Bondi, you know that there is a difference between acknowledging it and, you know, I can say that Donald Trump won the 2024 election. I may not like it, but I can say it. You cannot say who won the 2020 presidential election. It’s disturbing that you can’t give voice to that fact,” Hirono said.
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Rubio says he supports law preventing Trump from withdrawing from NATO without congressional approval
From CNN’s Michael Conte
Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, voiced his support for the bipartisan law he co-sponsored that prevents the US from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval or an act of Congress.
Rubio was responding to a question from the ranking Democratic member of the panel, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, about whether he would adhere to the law if Trump tries to withdraw the US from NATO.
Rubio noted that Trump has picked a nominee for US ambassador to NATO, indicating the president-elect takes the alliance seriously.
Rubio also voiced his support for NATO generally, while arguing that certain member states should better fund their defense budgets.
“Should the role of the United States in NATO in the 21st century be the primary defense role, or as a backstop to aggression, with countries in the region assuming more of that responsibility by contributing more?” Rubio asked rhetorically.
Some background: Trump said on the campaign trail that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense in a stunning admission he would not abide by the collective-defense clause at the heart of the alliance.
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Wright says he stands by past comments that "the hype over wildfires is just hype"
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Chris Wright arrives to testify before a US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of Energy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s energy pick Chris Wright said he stands by past social media comments that “the hype over wildfires is just hype” to justify climate policies he views as detrimental.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, whose state is currently battling massive wildfires in Los Angeles, asked Wright if he stood by those comments in light of the current deadly and devastating fires.
“I stand by my past comments,” Wright said during the tense exchange with Padilla.
“Tell that to the families of the more than two-dozen people” who lost their lives, Padilla shot back.
Wright later said the fires were “horrific.”
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Trump’s CIA pick says he will not impose "political litmus tests" at agency during rapid-fire Q&A
From CNN's Zachary Cohen
John Ratcliffe speaks during a Senate Intelligence confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, said he will not impose “political litmus tests” at the agency as he answered a series of rapid-fire questions from a key senator on the Intelligence Committee during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
The questions by Sen. Angus King mirrored what he asked Ratcliffe four years ago during his confirmation hearing to be the Director of National Intelligence — a role he served in during Trump’s first term.
Here’s a portion of the exchange between King and Ratcliffe:
King: “Would you consider an individual’s personal political preferences to include loyalty to the president in making the decision to hire fire or promote an individual?”
Ratcliffe: “No.”
King: “And do you commit to exclusively consider professional qualifications, and I see personnel decisions, duration of partisan or political factors?”
Ratcliffe: “Yes.”
King: “If you were to receive credible evidence as director of CIA that an individual was undermining objectivity and furthering a political agenda in the intelligence community, would you remove or discipline that person?”
Ratcliffe: “Yes.”
King: “Will you or any of your staff impose a political litmus test for CIA employees?”
Ratcliffe: “No.”
King: “Finally, if confirmed, will you reassure your workforce that loyalty tests are not allowed and not encouraged in the CIA?”
Ratcliffe: “I will.”
Ratcliffe’s answers prompted a positive reaction from King, who noted they were the same as the responses he provided four years ago.
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Bondi vows to follow DOJ policy to limit contacts between White House and department
From CNN’s Evan Perez
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, vowed to follow the Justice Department’s policy to limit contacts between the White House and the Justice Department.
At her confirmation hearing Wednesday, Bondi was pressed on her view of the Justice Department’s traditional independence and the existing policy, which generally limits contact with the White House in order to insulate enforcement actions and pending investigations.
The current policy generally limits contact on decisions related to criminal and civil cases to between top White House Counsel’s office officials and the attorney general, deputy attorney general, and in some cases, the associate attorney general.
Bondi, responding to questions from multiple senators, said she would follow the contacts policy, and added later:
Some background: Attorney General Merrick Garland issued the current White House contacts memo in 2021, but the Justice Department has had various versions of the policy since the abuses of former President Richard Nixon and Watergate. During the tenure of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from 2005-2007, White House officials worked with lower-level political appointees to draw up a list of US attorneys to be fired because they had displeased political officials in the White House, including on issues related to claims of vote fraud.
Trump over the years has viewed the Justice Department’s independence tradition as more malleable. In the closing days of his first administration, after then-Attorney General William Barr — and then the acting attorney general and deputy attorney general — rejected Trump’s vote fraud claims, Trump began working with a lower-level environmental lawyer to try to use the Justice Department to support his efforts to overturn the election results.
Trump has said he believes he has an “absolute right” to be involved in Justice Department matters.
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Trump's DOJ picks will face issue of whether to recuse themselves from cases where they supported him
From CNN’s Katelyn Polantz
There’s a practical issue attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and several of the other top lawyers nominated to the Justice Department will have to confront: Will they recuse themselves from overseeing cases where they supported Donald Trump personally when he was a private citizen?
Often the Justice Department has been at odds with Trump, most starkly in the two federal criminal cases it brought against him: the classified documents case and federal election interference case. Though special counsel Jack Smith dropped the cases against Trump after the November election, their reverberations linger.
A Trump Justice Department will need to decide what to do with appeals in the classified documents case, and the potential for the case against his former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
The 2020 election aftermath also has lingering ripples for the Justice Department, with ongoing lawsuits seeking to hold Trump and others accountable for the violence on January 6, 2021. Those cases could require the DOJ to take positions before judges.
Bondi has signed on to an appellate amicus brief opposing Smith’s power to bring indictments against Trump and others — a position that’s in line with Trump, but that cuts against the powers of the attorney general that have been exercised in both Democratic and Republican administrations for years.
And Trump’s picks for the No. 2 and No. 3 positions at the Justice Department have been serving as his personal lawyers on his criminal proceedings for months. Those two, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, are nominated to be deputy attorney general and principal associate attorney general, respectively. Trump’s top appellate lawyer on his personal defense team, John Sauer, is also his pick for US solicitor general, another one of the most powerful positions for lawyers in the federal government.
DOJ officials will have the opportunity to seek advice from the department internally, on whether they must recuse from cases personally related to Trump. But when they are in high-ranking legal positions, their own ethical choices matter greatly.
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Bondi falsely claims Trump didn’t ask Georgia official to "find" votes to overturn 2020 results
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi made a false claim Wednesday at her confirmation hearing about the infamous phone call where then-President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s top election official to “find” enough votes to overturn the 2020 results.
Sen. Richard Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, grilled Bondi about the January 2021 call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In that nearly hourlong call, Trump talked to Raffensperger about supposed voter fraud and said, “all I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.”
Durbin asked Bondi, “As a former prosecutor, are you not concerned that the President of the United States called a state election official and asked him to ‘find’ enough votes to change the results of the election?”
Bondi said she had only heard some clips of the call, and disputed Durbin’s description of the conversation.
“I have not listened to the hourlong conversation, but It’s my understanding that is not what he asked him to do,” Bondi said.
“You need to listen to it,” Durbin replied.
Federal and state prosecutors cited the call as part of their separate 2020 election subversion indictments against Trump. But Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith withdrew his case after Trump’s 2024 victory, and the Georgia prosecutor who filed that state case was recently disqualified due to potential misconduct.
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Rubio criticizes International Criminal Court case against Israeli government
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday railed against the International Criminal Court’s case against Israeli government officials, saying it “has done tremendous damage to its global credibility.”
He said the organization’s attempt to prosecute Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza sets “a very dangerous precedent for the United States of America.”
What Biden and Trump have said: Both President Joe Biden’s administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team have decried the ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu and have argued the court does not have jurisdiction.
Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC prosecutor the last time he was in office, and his incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz has already threatened a response. “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government. Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January,” he wrote on X in November.
There is also a bill that passed the House that would give broad authority to sanction anyone involved with the court.
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Several climate protesters disrupt hearing for Trump's energy secretary pick
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Several climate protesters have disrupted the hearing of Trump energy secretary pick Chris Wright and have been led away by police. CNN has counted four protesters so far – all of them have referenced the Los Angeles wildfires which are fueled by climate change.
One protester accused senators of asking soft-ball questions of Wright and not taking climate change seriously.
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"There will never be an enemies list" at the DOJ, Bondi says
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for US Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse pressed President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, about whether or not she would enforce an “enemies list” at the Department of Justice.
Whitehouse began by asking Bondi if she would hire someone she knew has such a list.
Bondi responded: “Senator, to cut to the chase, you’re clearly talking about Kash Patel; I don’t believe he has an enemies list,” defending Trump’s pick to lead the FBI and saying that Whitehouse will have the ability to question Patel during his hearing.
Whitehouse then pushed back, saying, “And I’m questioning you, right now, about whether you will enforce an enemies list that he announced publicly on television.”
More background: In his 2023 book, “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy,” Patel lays out his case against what he refers to as “the deep state” — an amorphous term he says includes elected leaders, journalists, Big Tech tycoons and “members of the unelected bureaucracy” — calling for “a comprehensive housecleaning” of the Justice Department, which he claims has protected high-ranking members of the Democratic Party while unjustly targeting Republicans and their allies.
Trump has praised the book as a “blueprint to take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government,” according to promotional endorsements.
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Protesters who interrupted Rubio hearing included one protesting in Spanish
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Michael Conte
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, had his opening remarks at his confirmation hearing interrupted several times by protesters, including one who protested in Spanish to the bilingual Rubio.
“I get bilingual protesters,” Rubio joked to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the protester was escorted out. The person was protesting US actions “killing children in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.”
“As you know, that’s a first here for us, at least in recent times,” responded the committee chair, Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho, before the hearing was again interrupted by a protestor who appeared to be from Code Pink and protested US sanctions in English.
The first protester before either of them spoke in English to protest “forever wars” and used Trump’s derogatory nickname for Rubio during the 2016 campaign, “Little Marco.”
Risch said during his opening remarks that he would be “significantly less tolerant” of protester interruptions than previous committee chairs. The protesters who interrupted Rubio were all escorted out of the hearing room by authorities.
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Trump's attorney general nominee says she "will not politicize that office"
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
Pam Bondi blasted the “weaponization” of the Justice Department Wednesday, saying that she will not improperly target people with criminal probes like those against Donald Trump.
“I will not politicize that office,” Bondi said of being attorney general. “I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.”
She continued, “justice will be administered even handedly throughout this country senator we’ve got to bring this country back together we’ve got to move forward or we’re gonna lose our country.”
Some background: Bondi has been outspoken in the press in her defense of Trump, previously saying that she thought the special counsel investigations were politically motivated.
“They targeted Donald Trump,” Bondi said of the DOJ. “They went after him, actually, starting back in 2016. They targeted his campaign, they have launched countless investigations against him.
“That will not be the case if I am attorney general,” she said. “I will not politicize that office.”
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Rubio is "well qualified to serve as secretary of state," ranking Democrat on foreign relations panel says
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Democratic member, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she believes Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida “has the skills” and is “well qualified to serve as secretary of state.”
“Today I want to dig into this administration’s plans for American foreign policy and the State Department in particular,” Shaheen told Rubio at his confirmation hearing Wednesday morning.
She asked for Rubio to lay out the incoming Trump administration’s plans for Ukraine and the Middle East. She also said she wants to hear Rubio’s vision for the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues “and more broadly, how the administration will work to empower women and girls on the global stage.”
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Bondi accepts Trump's 2020 loss but falsely claims "there was a peaceful transition of power"
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi told lawmakers Wednesday she accepts that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election but falsely claimed “there was a peaceful transition of power” that year, ignoring the January 6 attack on the US Capitol that disrupted the election certification.
“President Biden is the president of the United States,” Bondi said. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office, and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”
She also sowed doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 results, citing her on-the-ground legal work that year for the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania. Trump has falsely claimed there was massive fraud in the state, and dispatched Bondi and other allies like Rudy Giuliani to try to overturn the results there.
“I accept the results. I accept, of course, that Joe Biden is President of the United States,” she said. “But what I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for the (2020) campaign … I saw many things there. But do I accept the results? Of course I do. Do I agree with what happened? I saw so much.”
Democratic and Republican election officials in Pennsylvania vetted many of the concerns Bondi and Trump’s team raised in 2020, and concluded claims of widespread irregularities were meritless.
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Trump energy pick Chris Wright outlines priorities
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Colorado fracking CEO Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the US Department of Energy, outlined three “immediate tasks” he will take on if confirmed.
Wright vowed to “unleash American energy” — echoing a talking point Trump often repeating on the campaign trail. The Liberty Energy CEO said the US should increase energy production, including liquified natural gas and commercial nuclear energy.
Wright committed to support the US national laboratories and “protect” their work. And third, Wright said he would work on faster energy permitting — an issue that has eluded Congress over the past several years.
Wright emphasized his track record on oil and gas, nuclear and geothermal energy.
Introduced by Democrat: Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado introduced Wright.
“I have high optimism we can work together,” Hickenlooper said, adding he’s known Wright for many years, and they have a collegial relationship even though “we disagree on a lot of things.”
Hickenlooper also said he wants to talk to Wright about worsening climate change, citing the recent Los Angeles wildfires.
“He is a scientist who is open to discussion” to address climate challenges, Hickenlooper said.
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Bondi says she'll consider recommending January 6 pardons on a "case-by-case" basis
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi said that she would consider recommending pardons for those convicted of crimes related to the January 6 riot on a “case-by-case basis.”
In an exchange with democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who asked whether she believed those convicted of “violent assaults on police officers should be pardoned,” Bondi said that she would advise the president as her job requires.
“The pardons of course, fall under the president,” Bondi said. “But if asked to look at those cases, I will look at each case and advise on a case-by-case basis, just as I did my entire career as a prosecutor.”
When pressed by Durbin again, Bondi said that she has not seen any case files on those convicted of violent crimes during the riot, but doubled down that, “if asked to advise the president, I will look at each and every file.”
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to pardon US Capitol rioters on Day One, but ahead of Inauguration Day it’s not clear who among the hundreds of convicted rioters, defendants awaiting trial and remaining fugitives could receive clemency.
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Rubio is the "right person" to be secretary of state, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman says
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman James Risch said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is the “right person” to serve as secretary of state.
The Republican from Idaho touted Rubio as a “great friend” and said that over their years together on the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, they have been in “violent agreement” on the majority of issues.
A Foreign Relations Committee business meeting to consider Rubio’s nomination is scheduled for Monday, one of the final expected steps before sending the nomination to the full Senate for a vote.
On China: The Republican chairman called China “the most significant long-term risk” to the US and spoke of Rubio’s push for hawkish policies toward Beijing. He called for the US to continue to work with its allies to deter China.
On the Middle East: Risch said that President-elect Donald Trump and Rubio will support Israel and return to the “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.
On Ukraine: Risch called for a quick and permanent end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, adding that he believes Trump can get it done, “and Marco is the right man to help ensure it is done in a way that guarantees security and stability for Ukraine, the US, and our allies, and prevents Russia from launching another war.”
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Sen. Rick Scott introduces Bondi as "qualified, brilliant"
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz
Sen. Rick Scott, who served as governor of Florida alongside Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, said Wednesday that she has a “proven track record” of leading prosecutors and law enforcement.
The Republican senator, calling Bondi a “good friend,” said the former Florida attorney general was an “incredible partner” when they overlapped in state politics.
Scott added Bondi will fix the “public trust crisis” that he said the Justice Department faces.
“Under her leadership, the DOJ will actually fairly enforce the laws, protect the lives of the American people, and keep our nation safe and crack down on violent crimes and dangerous drugs. And the American people will trust her to do so,” he said.
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Top Senate Intel Democrat presses CIA director pick to reassure workforce due to Trump’s attacks
From CNN’s Zachary Cohen
Former US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his nomination to be CIA director, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
Jemal Countess/AFP/Getty Images
The top Democrat on a key Senate Intelligence Committee said Wednesday he is concerned President-elect Donald Trump’s has continued to “engage in undeserved attacks” of the professional men and women who work at US intelligence agencies, calling on CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe to reassure employees at the agency “that they need not fear reprisal for speaking truth to power.”
“I am very concerned that the president-elect has continued to engage in undeserved attacks upon the professional women and men of our intelligence agencies,” Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in his opening remarks during Ratcliffe’s confirmation hearing.
“These comments affect the morale of these dedicated men and women, many of whom risk their lives in anonymity to protect our nation… and who do so without regard to which party is in power or who holds the office of president,” he added.
Warner then pushed Ratcliffe to explain how he plans to reassure the CIA workforce.
Ratcliffe says the agency will adhere to its core mission of collecting human intelligence and conducting covert action at the direction of the president, while “never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products,” according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by CNN ahead of Wednesday’s hearing on Capitol Hill.
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Bondi tells senators in opening remarks that she will end "partisanship" and "weaponization" of DOJ
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz and Paula Reid
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for US Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US attorney general, told senators Wednesday that she will end “the partisanship (and) the weaponization” of the Department of Justice if confirmed to the post.
“I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components,” Bondi said in opening remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.”
Her testimony Wednesday morning begins what is likely to be a contentious confirmation hearing in the Senate. Bondi has wide-ranging support with Republicans, who have touted her career as the Florida state attorney general and said that she will crack down on violent crime and bring an even-handed approach to a department embroiled in politics after the failed prosecutions of Trump.
Some Democrats, however, have expressed concern that she will enact Trump’s vision for the department, including prosecuting his political enemies.
Bondi said that her aim in the position will be “getting back to basics,” targeting issues like violent crime, drug trafficking, foreign threats and the US-Mexico border.
“That is what the American people expect, and that is what they deserve from the Department of Justice,” she’ll say. “If confirmed, I will do everything in my power — and it will be my great responsibility — to make America safe again.”
This post has been updated with Bondi’s delivered remarks.
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Trump allies on Judiciary Committee urge Bondi to address accountability at DOJ in confirmation hearing
From CNN’s Ali Main and Manu Raju
Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said he wants to hear President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick Pam Bondi talk about “accountability” at the Justice Department during her Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
“I think the orchestration of lawfare from the White House, the DOJ against President Trump, is all the evidence you’ll ever need that the Democrats are hyper-hypocritical on this point,” he said, accusing federal and state prosecutors of trying to jail Donald Trump “for the rest of his life.”
Asked if he expects Bondi to issue retribution for Trump’s enemies, Schmitt answered he thinks there “ought to be accountability” and that everyone at DOJ involved in prosecuting Trump should be “fired immediately.”
Pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju if he thinks any of those people should be prosecuted, Schmitt answered “there ought probably to be some investigations.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham said “it depends on what they did” when asked the same question.
Asked by Raju if he’s concerned about Bondi’s role in Trump’s effort to overturn 2020 election results, Graham said “I don’t take that seriously. I think she’s one of the most qualified people.”
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Trump's CIA pick says he will never allow "political or personal biases to cloud" the agency's judgment
From CNN’s Zachary Cohen
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrives for a Senate Intelligence confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
If confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s CIA director, John Ratcliffe says the agency will adhere to its core mission of collecting human intelligence and conducting covert action at the direction of the president, while “never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products,” according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by CNN ahead of Wednesday’s hearing on Capitol Hill.
At the heart of Ratcliffe’s message to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee is a pledge to guide the agency “through a tumultuous time in the world, and toward a future in which the CIA’s mission will be both more difficult and more indispensable than ever.”
Ratcliffe also plans to directly address the rank-and-file CIA officers he hopes to lead.
“To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work,” he will say.
Inside the US intelligence community, a deep wariness about a second Trump administration has set in, stoked by memories of the antagonistic relationship the nation’s spy agencies had with Trump the last time he was president.
But when news broke that Trump had selected Ratcliffe as his CIA director, the former director of national intelligence, some career officials were cautiously optimistic, seeing Ratcliffe as a largely professional and potentially less disruptive choice than some other former officials believed to have been under consideration.
Ratcliffe has had several meetings with current CIA Director Bill Burns and is expected to thank his predecessor for his “commitment to a smooth and professional transition” during Wednesday’s hearing.
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NOW: Confirmation hearing for Trump's secretary of state pick Marco Rubio underway
From CNN staff
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, has begun.
Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and face questions from both Republicans and Democrats.
In 2016, Rubio and Trump’s relationship seemed it may be beyond repair when in the closing days of his campaign, Rubio publicly attacked Trump, saying he wasn’t going to “make America great. He’s gonna make America orange,” mocking the size of Trump’s hands and calling him a “con artist” vying to take over the Republican Party.
But since, Rubio and Trump’s relationship has not only thawed, it has strengthened.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
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"A change is desperately needed" at the DOJ, Judiciary Committee chair Grassley says
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said that if confirmed, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Department of Justice, Pam Bondi, will take the helm “at a very turbulent time for this country and for that department.”
In his opening remarks at Bondi’s confirmation hearing, Grassley claimed the Justice Department is “infected with political decision making, while its leaders refuse to acknowledge that reality.”
“A change is desperately needed,” he said.
Grassley went on to accuse the Justice Department of being politically weaponized and listed a number of cases that he believed was not handled appropriately.
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Ranking Democrat to Bondi: "I need to know that you would tell the president 'no'"
From CNN's Manu Raju
Sen. Dick Durbin speaks during a hearing at the US Capitol on July 11, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Bonnie Cash/Getty Images
Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned whether Pam Bondi’s loyalty to President-elect Donald Trump would interfere with her ability to carry out the responsibilities of attorney general if she is confirmed to the post.
“I need to know that you would tell the president ‘no’ if you are asked to do something that is wrong, illegal or unconstitutional,” Durbin said.
He continued: “You joined Mr. Trump in working to overturn the 2020 election. You have repeatedly described investigations and prosecutions of Mr. Trump as ‘witch hunts,’ and you have echoed his calls for investigating and prosecuting his political opponents.”
Sen. Coons: Key question for Bondi is whether she would refuse an illegal or unethical order by Trump
From CNN’s Kit Maher, Manu Raju and Ali Main
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons told CNN’s Manu Raju his top question for President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi is whether she would refuse to carry out an order that she views as “unethical or illegal.”
“Whether or not Attorney General Bondi, if ordered by President elect Trump, to do something that she views as unethical or illegal, would refuse that order, and if so, what she would do,” Coons said.
Prior to the hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Coons said he had a “constructive” meeting with Bondi and his questions “should not be a surprise to her at all.”
“We talked about her record on supporting criminal justice reform, which I consider positive, and hope to work with her on, and I asked her a number of questions about her intention to fight for the independence of the Department of Justice,” Coons said.
Coons said “yes,” he worries that Bondi would prosecute members of the January 6 Committee and others if confirmed and that he expects questions to come up in that regard.
Referencing former Attorney General Bill Barr, Coons said, “When ordered by President Trump to investigate the 2020, election later, preliminary inquiries that there’s no evidence there, I refuse to go forward. So even a loyalist like Attorney General Barr stood up and refused to do some of the things he was ordered to do by President Trump.”
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NOW: Confirmation hearing for Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi underway
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for US Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Senate confirmation hearing for Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US attorney general, has begun.
Bondi will face questions from both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Bondi became the president-elect’s selection to head the Department of Justice after former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the role as he faced troubling allegations and narrow margins for support.
Bondi is the former attorney general for Florida, and her name began being circulated almost immediately after Gaetz removed his name from consideration.
While Trump has always liked Bondi, she also has close ties with others in his orbit, including his incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles and his legal counsel Boris Epshteyn. Trump met in person with Bondi at Mar-a-Lago before officially offering her the job, a source familiar told CNN
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Meanwhile, GOP prepares to set course on reconciliations in members meeting today
From CNN's Lauren Fox
As House Republicans laid out an ambitious timeline yesterday in conference on how quickly they plan to move on a tax and border bill, the entire conference is set to meet again today to talk about the contents of that bill, according to a source familiar.
The meeting is an opportunity for members to feel bought into the process after many complained last month they felt shut out from the spending negotiation that was largely managed by the speaker’s staff.
Its unlikely much can be firmed up in a meeting with so many members, but expect this to set the course for how Speaker Mike Johnson tries to operate in the early days of discussions around this bill. The hope is that the more members who are brought in early, the more bought in they will be once there is a final product.
Keep in mind: Again, with a narrow majority and intense disagreements about what to include and how to cut spending, getting anything passed is going to be extremely difficult.
The meeting will be at 3 p.m. ET in Cannon caucus room.
Punchbowl first reported the existence of the meeting.
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"It has been the privilege of my life": Biden reflects on his term in letter to the American people
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg and Alejandra Jaramillo
President Joe Biden, in a farewell letter to the American people, reflects on the last four years and his presidency ahead of his primetime Oval Office address.
The letter begins with Biden discussing when America stood in a “winter of peril and a winter of possibilities” grappling with a pandemic, economic crisis, and political unrest – when he first took office.
He then highlighted his key accomplishments during the last four years, and says that the “the nation emerged stronger,” pointing to the economy, manufacturing, and dropping crime rates as his proof.
The 82-year-old president, in a more personal part of the letter, said that it has been the “privilege” of his life to be in public service for the last five decades and that he has given his “heart” and “soul” to the nation.
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It's a busy day of confirmation hearings for Trump's Cabinet picks. Here's what to watch for
From CNN's Eric Bradner
President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for attorney general, secretary of state and several other key Cabinet posts are set to appear in front of Senate committees today for high-stakes confirmation hearings.
The hearings, five days before Trump takes office, come as the Republican-led Senate appears to be largely falling in line behind the president-elect’s choices.
Two Floridians — Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice to lead the State Department, and former state Attorney General Pam Bondi, his choice to lead the Justice Department — are among the six names set for hearings today.
The other hearings are occurring for: former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for the Transportation Department; energy industry executive Chris Wright for the Department of Energy; John Ratcliffe, a former congressman who was briefly director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, for CIA director; and Russell Vought, one of the key authors of Project 2025, for the Office of Management and Budget.
Here’s what to watch:
Rubio vs the “global order”: Rubio, a respected presence in the Senate who hasn’t always been in Trump’s political orbit, has been expected to easily win confirmation as the president-elect’s top diplomat from the moment he was chosen for the role.
The shadow of January 6: There is little doubt Republicans will back Bondi, who was Trump’s second choice for attorney general after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.
But Democrats are likely to use her confirmation hearing, scheduled to spread across two days, to press for answers on whether she will act on Trump’s often-stated desire to target his political enemies for prosecution.
Trump's attorney general nominee is known for her battles for conservative causes
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez
Pam Bondi meets with Sen. Lindsey Graham in his office at the Russell Senate Office Building in December 2.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In his pick for attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump has found not only a powerhouse media strategist and loyal ally, but a tenacious litigator known for her battles in court for conservative causes.
Pam Bondi will appear on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the first of two Senate confirmation hearings for the job.
Pam Bondi is a far more conventional selection to lead the US Justice Department than former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was initially chosen by Trump but stepped aside after a week of nonstop scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Her background: She was elected in 2011 to her first political position — Florida attorney general — and was the first woman to hold that office, where she prosecuted several high-profile cases. Bondi unsuccessfully brought cases that aimed to undermine the Affordable Care Act and fought to keep Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage.
She was at the vanguard of the 2012 Supreme Court challenge to President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and, as attorney general, could now be positioned to work to undercut the Affordable Care Act again. Trump himself has given mixed signals on his health care agenda.
While her cases often handled hot-button issues, Bondi herself landed in the headlines for her political maneuvers, as she grew increasingly partisan during her two terms in office. During the 2016 presidential election, Bondi became a top Florida surrogate for the Trump campaign and her support for the president-elect has not wavered.
Importance of attorney general: The role of attorney general has long been viewed by Trump as one of, if not the most important positions he would fill. When he left office in January 2021, he privately griped that his biggest regret was who he had chosen to lead the Justice Department — specifically referring to his attorneys general Jeff Sessions and William Barr, both of whom, by the end of his term, he viewed as disloyal.
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Your guide to the Cabinet confirmation process
Analysis from CNN's Zachary B. Wolf
For all the drama generated every four years by Cabinet appointments, defeat of a nominee by a vote in the Senate is extremely rare.
Rather than face the humiliation of a rejection vote in the Senate, Cabinet nominees are more frequentlywithdrawn when it becomes clear they cannot be confirmed. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz backed out in November as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee.
Every recent president since Bill Clinton has withdrawn at least one of their initial nominees. Clinton’s initial nominee to be attorney general, Zoe Baird, withdrew her nomination after admitting she employed undocumented immigrants to watch her child.
Here’s more about the confirmation process:
What is the Cabinet? Presidents lead the federal government with the help of a group of close advisers and the heads of federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the Pentagon. Some members of the Cabinet, like vice president and White House chief of staff, do not need Senate approval. But most of them do.
Some roles, like US ambassador to the United Nations or CIA director, have been at the Cabinet level in some administrations but not all. The current Cabinet, under President Joe Biden, has 26 members.
The Senate’s role: Article II is the section of the Constitution that deals with the executive branch. In 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. If the Senate is in recess, the president can make temporary appointments.
Rubio and Trump have overcome a rocky start to their relationship
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes and Kylie Atwood
Sen. Marco Rubio speaks during a campaign rally for Donald Trump in November.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio will appear before the Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to potentially become the next secretary of state. President-elect Donald Trump named the Florida lawmaker as his pick to be his top diplomat, even after a rocky start to their relationship.
After his failed GOP presidential primary in 2016, Rubio rebuilt his image in the likeness of a populist in Washington. At the same time, he sharpened his foreign policy credentials as the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, while building relationships in his party, across the aisle and around the globe.
He has used his perch as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee to take on China, introducing legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology and grilling the FBI director on Beijing’s influence over TikTok.
Rubio – who has spent more than a decade focused on the “China threat” theory – was sanctioned along with five other US lawmakers by the Chinese government in 2020 for “behaving badly on Hong Kong-related issues.” Now, current and former US officials say that China is likely going to have to remove those sanctions in order to deal with him.
But since, Rubio and Trump’s relationship has not only thawed, it has strengthened.
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Also happening today: Biden to deliver farewell address as he prepares to leave office
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg and Arlette Saenz
President Joe Biden walks to the Rose Garden at the White House to deliver remarks in November.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address from the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House announced. It comes as President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to take the helm next week.
“On Wednesday, January 15 at 8:00 PM, the President will deliver a Farewell Address to the nation from the Oval Office,” the White House said in a statement.
Wednesday’s speech will be the fifth time Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office, last delivering remarks there on July 24 when he discussed why he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
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These are the confirmation hearings happening on Capitol Hill today
From CNN staff
Top, left to right: Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi, John Ratcliffe. Bottom, left to right: Sean Duffy, Chris Wright, Russell Vought.
Getty Images/Reuters/AP
Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks will face questions from senators this week.
Here’s a look at the confirmation hearings happening on Wednesday:
Marco Rubio for secretary of state, before the Foreign Relations Committee
Pam Bondi for attorney general, before the Senate Judiciary Committee
John Ratcliffe to head CIA, before Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Sean Duffy for transportation secretary, before the Senate Commerce Committee
Chris Wright for energy secretary, before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Russ Vought to head the Office of Management and Budget, before the Homeland Security Committee
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Senators grilled Pete Hegseth yesterday. Here's what to know to get caught up
From CNN's Jeremy Herb
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, acknowledged Tuesday he is “not a perfect person” but was defiant in the face of multiple allegations surrounding his past conduct during a contentious confirmation hearing.
Hegseth dismissed the allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 as false and part of a “coordinated smear campaign,” claiming that the attacks against him were an attempt to use him to also smear the president-elect.
In a sign of Hegseth’s strong position, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, one of the Republicans who had initially expressed concerns about his nomination, said after the hearing that she would support him.
Here are some of the takeaways:
Democrats pressed Hegseth on sexual assault allegation. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, pressed Hegseth on the 2017 sexual assault investigation, asking if he’d ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement related to physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature.
“I was falsely accused in October of 2017, it was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth said.
“I don’t think ‘completely cleared’ is accurate,” Hirono responded, noting his lawyer has said he entered into a non-disclosure agreement with his accuser as part of a settlement.
Hegseth also denied allegations of workplace drinking, while Democrats pressed him about not drinking if he was in charge of the Pentagon.
Democrats also pressed Hegseth over comments on women in combat: Several Democrats pushed Hegseth to answer for his past public comments and writings in his 2023 book about women in the military, questioning whether he could give female service members a fair shot if he’s in charge of the Pentagon.
Hegseth told Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that he has “never disparaged” women who serve in the military, and said he had “personal experience” of instances of standards being lowered, pointing to examples he was told by others while writing his book “The War on Warriors.”
He did not, however, provide a specific example of standards being lowered to bring women into units when pushed by Gillibrand to do so.
