Key occasions
Hugo Lowell
Senate judiciary committee chair Chuck Grassley is working by way of Pam Bondi’s resume as a prosecutor at first of her affirmation listening to for lawyer common.
The listening to room is especially full however there are some spare seats, which displays the truth that Bondi is one in every of Trump’s least controversial nominees and has not generated the identical immense curiosity for Trump’s protection secretary nominee Pete Hegseth yesterday.
The Senate judiciary committee has gaveled in its affirmation listening to for lawyer general-nominee Pam Bondi, with Republican chairman Chuck Grassley delivering his opening remarks.
We are going to subsequent hear the opening assertion from Democratic rating member Dick Durbin, who informed CNN earlier at the moment that when he will get his flip to query Bondi, he’ll try and decipher her views on Trump’s denial of his election defeat in 2020:
I’ll ask her some primary questions on some Maga dogma. For instance, did Trump truly win or lose the election in 2020? As his lawyer, she mentioned he didn’t lose, however I feel the info have proven in any other case. Did she study something from that have? Is she keen to inform us that he misplaced that election? There are questions like that that should be requested and answered underneath oath.
Senate judiciary committee to carry affirmation listening to for Trump’s lawyer general-nominee Pam Bondi
Donald Trump’s nominee for lawyer common Pam Bondi is ready to quickly seem earlier than the Senate judiciary committee for the primary day of her affirmation hearings.
The previous Florida lawyer common has voiced assist for Trump’s baseless claims that fraud was the reason for his re-election defeat in 2020. The president-elect nominated her to guide the justice division after his first alternative, former congressman Matt Gaetz, bowed out amid stories of his sexual misconduct.
Bondi will take extra questions from senators tomorrow. Comply with alongside as we cowl at the moment’s listening to dwell.
Republican senator and fight veteran Joni Ernst’s endorsement of Pete Hegseth anticipated to make sure his affirmation as Pentagon chief
Joni Ernst noticed fight as a military nationwide guard soldier in Iraq, and now represents Iowa within the Senate. The Republican was an early holdout to former Fox Information host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to guide the Pentagon, since he has publicly mentioned that girls mustn’t serve in navy fight roles.
Hegseth walked that stance again at his affirmation listening to yesterday, and in a press release launched final evening, Ernst confirmed she is going to vote for him:
After 4 years of weak spot within the White Home, Individuals deserve a powerful Secretary of Protection. Our subsequent commander in chief chosen Pete Hegseth to serve on this position, and after our conversations, listening to from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I’ll assist President Trump’s decide for Secretary of Protection. As I serve on the Armed Companies Committee, I’ll work with Pete to create essentially the most deadly preventing pressure and maintain him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, making certain alternative for ladies in fight whereas sustaining excessive requirements, and choosing a senior official to deal with and stop sexual assault within the ranks.
Democrats on the listening to tried to steer the eye of lawmakers in direction of the allegation of sexual assault made in opposition to Hegseth, which he denies, in addition to tales that he drank to extra and mismanaged the funds of two veterans charities. None of these stories appeared to sway Republicans, and Ernst’s endorsement is broadly seen as giving him the votes he must win Senate affirmation.
Right here’s a glance again at yesterday’s listening to:
Trump’s lawyer common decide Pam Bondi to face senators as key Republican says she’ll again controversial Pentagon nominee
Good morning, US politics weblog readers. A battery of Donald Trump’s nominees for cupboard are going earlier than senators at the moment, together with South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to guide the homeland safety division, senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state and former congressman and intelligence official John Ratcliffe as director of the CIA. However the marquee occasion of the day might be former Florida lawyer common Pam Bondi’s affirmation listening to to guide the justice division, a task during which she may make good on Trump’s guarantees to retaliate in opposition to his political enemies. Bondi voiced assist for Trump’s baseless claims of fraud within the 2020 election, and you may anticipate Democratic senators to demand solutions about whether or not she would carry election denialism into the justice division, if confirmed.
In the meantime, it seems that Pete Hegseth, the previous Fox Information host who Trump nominated to function his protection secretary, gained over a key Republican senator in his tense affirmation listening to yesterday. Iowa’s Joni Ernst has introduced that she is going to assist Hegseth, after expressing hesitation over feedback he had made opposing ladies serving in fight roles. Hegseth has been dogged by a sexual assault allegation and stories of extreme consuming and monetary mismanagement, however Ernst’s endorsement is seen as a serious step to successful over different Republicans cautious of putting in him on the Pentagon.
Right here’s what else is happening at the moment:
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Joe Biden will ship his farewell handle to the nation from the Oval Workplace at 8pm.
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Inflation, the politically damaging financial pattern Trump vowed to reverse, got here in barely larger than anticipated in December, based on just-released shopper worth information from the labor division.
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Harmful winds are anticipated to strike fire-ravaged components of Southern California once more, threatening new blazes. Comply with our dwell weblog for extra.
