The tricky questions facing Trump's nominees for top jobs

This week, some of Donald Trump’s key allies will face questioning from senators in a tense process that will see them either approved or rejected for the positions the president-elect has nominated them for. The hearings will begin on Tuesday, marking the first opportunity for senators to publicly question some of Trump's more controversial picks.

Following this, they will need to be confirmed in their positions by a vote. While the upper house of Congress is now controlled by Trump's Republicans, just three defections would be enough to reject a nominee. Here are some of the difficulties that some of the nominees may be preparing to face.

Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense, is expected to have a closely watched confirmation hearing. He is expected to face questions on Tuesday about his lack of managerial experience, allegations of alcohol abuse, and past opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military. Hegseth may also be questioned about allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in a California hotel room in 2017. He denies the allegations, insisting the encounter was consensual. The allegations were investigated, but Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran, was never arrested or charged. Hegseth and the unnamed accuser subsequently reached a confidential financial settlement in 2023. His lawyer later told the Associated Press that the payment was intended to prevent a baseless lawsuit. Trump has stood by his pick, who is among the nominees who have been busy in recent days lobbying senators to ensure they get the necessary votes.

Kristi Noem, nominated for Secretary of Homeland Security, will be in the spotlight on Wednesday. She may be tasked with implementing one of Trump's campaign promises – what his team calls the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in US history. As the president-elect’s nominee for Homeland Security Secretary, Noem may be asked about the logistics of implementing this promise. Experts have said a mass deportation plan of this scale could face logistical or legal difficulties. Noem may also face questions about other potential immigration policies, such as Trump’s pledge to end birthright citizenship. She has been a loyal and outspoken supporter of the president-elect’s promises, in line with other nominees and appointments to Trump’s second White House.

Marco Rubio, nominated for Secretary of State, has been on the other side of a Trump nominee’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of State. In 2017, he grilled Rex Tillerson, urging him to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, which Tillerson refused to do. If that meeting demonstrated a divergence of views between Rubio and Trump, then a rival at the time, the two appear to be more closely aligned eight years later. Rubio is now a candidate for one of the most coveted positions in the Trump administration and is expected to face relatively little resistance in the confirmation process. But senators may test his loyalty on Wednesday with a series of questions about the US’s future support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Trump has argued it is a drain on US resources, a view that may clash with Rubio’s hawkish foreign policy views.

Howard Lutnick, nominated for Secretary of Commerce, faces a test of loyalty to Trump at his Senate committee hearing (yet to be scheduled), as he would be responsible for implementing Trump’s sweeping tariff policies. Trump has threatened to impose import taxes on a range of goods arriving in the US, including from some of its major trading partners, which he says is to protect US jobs. Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has accepted the offer, despite this stance being at odds with others in his industry and some leading economists. He may face direct questions about the effects of sweeping new tariffs on the US economy and consumers.

Tulsi Gabbard, nominated for Director of National Intelligence, is likely to be questioned by both Republicans and Democrats about her past comments on US adversaries such as Russia and Syria. Gabbard, also a veteran, has been an opponent of US interventionist foreign policy. In 2017, while still a Democratic member of Congress, she met with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and expressed skepticism about US intelligence assessments that accused him of using deadly chemical weapons. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine five years later, she blamed NATO and echoed Kremlin claims that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. Gabbard has said there is a need for dialogue with countries such as Russia. Democrats are reportedly delaying her hearing until a background check has been completed.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, is one of Trump’s more unusual picks and, like Gabbard, effectively began his political career as a Democrat. Kennedy later became a supporter of Trump and was rewarded with the nomination. His lack of medical qualifications may raise thorny initial questions on both sides of the political divide. His past remarks about established science are also likely to come under scrutiny. He has repeatedly made widely debunked claims about the dangers of vaccines, though he denies being anti-vaccine overall. On other issues, such as scrutinizing food additives, Kennedy has garnered more widespread support.

Kash Patel, nominated for Director of the FBI, has drawn skepticism from some critics of Trump’s pick about whether Patel is qualified to lead the US’s main law enforcement agency. Others fear he may seek retribution against Trump’s opponents. “We are going to hold accountable the media people who lied to American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election,” he previously said, referencing Trump’s baseless claims about the 2020 election. While former law enforcement officials have questioned his leadership abilities, Patel’s experience as a lawyer and in several national security posts has been praised by the Trump team and some Republicans. Patel’s stated goal is to overhaul how the FBI operates, including purging some of its senior staff.