Presented by Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs
With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Defense, visits with various senators in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, on Dec. 9. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO
THE TRUMP NOMINEE MOOD RING
‘Tis the season — not for tinsel and garland, but for senators to meet with Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks.
POLITICO reporters have been talking with GOP lawmakers for weeks about Trump’s incoming nominees in an attempt to parse out who will or won’t get confirmed. And there’s a definite line between those who are on a solid path to confirmation and those with work left to do.
Things are still in flux, lawmakers have told us, and nominees’ chances are subject to change. Many senators are remaining publicly noncommittal on some of the president’s more controversial picks — we saw how that played out for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s shot at attorney general. But on the highway to confirmation, some picks have green lights, and others are stuck.
Here’s our read:
Chances look good:
Sen. Marco Rubio’s path to secretary of State looks well on track. Even some Democrats have acknowledged Rubio’s qualifications for the job, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Rubio this week.
Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador also seems set. We’ve spotted her milling around the Senate multiple times in the past few weeks, and we’ve heard no signs of GOP opposition to her nomination.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is proving a less controversial backup than Trump's first pick, now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz. She’s been meeting with senators and despite an approaching “ethics quagmire,” as documented by our colleague Hailey Fuchs, Bondi seems well positioned to be confirmed.
Some others who seem to be in good shape: Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary, Doug Burgum for secretary of Interior, Sean Duffy for Department of Transportation and Linda McMahon for secretary of Education.
Hearings will be critical:
Kash Patel for head of the FBI. There hasn’t been a lot of early opposition to Patel’s nomination, but his proposed overhaul of the FBI could draw pushback from intelligence hawks when put under a spotlight. This is one where a hearing might make a whole lot of difference, with senators surely looking to question his plans further.
In potential trouble:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. We reported earlier today that there are signs of trouble for Kennedy. He’s lacking early support from moderate or swing-vote senators, and his positions on vaccines have drawn concern. But we’re not yet ready to say that Kennedy’s nomination is in severe peril; he has a crucial set of meetings with senators next week, as reported by our colleague Chelsea Cirruzzo. Those could make a notable difference.
Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Gabbard’s past comments on Russia and Syria, alongside a lack of formal experience working in intelligence, are likely to be issues for some of the chamber’s more national-security-oriented members. But Gabbard, a former Democrat, has begun meetings with GOP senators and has worked to closely align herself with Trump’s worldview.
Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary. Multiple weeks of high-profile meetings with senators and lasting doubts about his nomination aren’t a stellar sign for the former Fox News personality. But conservative voices are mounting a pressure campaigns against those not yet fully committed to supporting Hegseth, namely Sen. Joni Enrst (R-Iowa). Hegseth could still make it to a hearing — maybe that would help.
Here’s the thing: It’s safe to assume that most of these picks will be confirmed after some degree of trial and tribulation. Senate Republicans want to be deferential to Trump. And those who speak out too forcefully know there will likely be a big political price to pay down the road.
— Ursula Perano
GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Dec. 9, where the dense fog is shrouding the top of the Capitol building.
A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs:
Big Pharma is pushing Congress to pass a self-serving scheme called “delinking.” This scheme would use government mandates to undermine market-based incentives that encourage pharmacy benefit managers to secure savings on prescription drugs. This scheme would hike premiums for seniors in the Medicare Part D program, resulting in a $32 BILLION profit windfall for Big Pharma – no wonder “delinking” is their top priority in Washington. Stop Big Pharma's money grab from America’s seniors. Reject "delinking!"
DISASTER AID STATE OF PLAY
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Tuesday that negotiators are now “closing the gaps” in disaster aid negotiations.
On the other side of the Capitol, incoming Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Monday night that dealmakers are “at the point where we're in serious negotiations and trading,” after having “worked all weekend” toward a deal. “Nothing is final yet.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he “remains hopeful and determined” that a deal can be reached on disaster aid “with a serious show of bipartisan cooperation.”
Topline lost in the fog: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), whose state was devastated by Hurricane Helene, is estimating the disaster bill will total “somewhere south” of the nearly $100 billion the White House outlined last month. “But not too far south,” Tillis added.
— Katherine Tully-McManus and Jennifer Scholtes
WEAPONIZATION TURNING OFF THE LIGHTS
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan told Inside Congress on Tuesday that the “weaponization” select subcommittee will close up shop at the end of the year and get folded into Judiciary Committee work more broadly next Congress.
“I think we’re planning on keeping some focus of that, but within the Judiciary, not as a separate select,” Jordan (R-Ohio) said, adding that the full panel would “continue our work” on areas, including censorship.
It’s a shift from earlier this fall, when Jordan was actively pitching the subcommittee to remain active for the 119th Congress. But the subcommittee has also garnered plenty of criticism from Democrats — and some Republicans — who believe it was an attention-grabbing idea that hasn’t amounted to much.
The subcommittee, which is also headed by Jordan, was the home for investigating the GOP’s claims of conservative bias within the federal government, including holding hearings on surveillance, Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump and “lawfare.”
But its future has been the subject of speculation for months.
Asked if it should continue, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), one of the loudest proponents for creating the select subcommittee, told us in a recent interview that the subcommittee “has only touched the surface of the things that need to be discovered about the abuse of the rights and privileges of the American people,” but that he thought the next chapter would shift to the Trump administration.
“I’m going to look to those tools for the next chapter,” he said, adding that he didn’t expect the subcommittee’s approach was going to make “rapid enough progress.”
— Jordain Carney
A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs:
SENATE ATTENDANCE CHECK
Retiring Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.) hasn’t voted since Thanksgiving break, with her absence possibly costing Democrats the chance to clear some of their most highly contested judicial picks and other nominations.
Sinema’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Reminder: This is hardly the first time the Arizona independent — she left the Democratic party in December 2022 before opting against a reelection bid — has rankled her former party. She has bucked them on everything from raising the minimum wage to tax policy changes.
Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio) has also often missed Senate votes as he prepares to assume his new office, effectively robbing Senate Republicans of a reliable vote against most Biden picks. The office of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not comment on Sinema’s absence.
Nice one, Jim McGovern: During debate on a bill limiting laundry efficiency rules, he quipped: “what's next, changing the national motto to 'Lint Free or Die?’”
Speaker Mike Johnson gave a Capitol tour to some Naval Academy classmates of his son Monday night. Johnson said he told the midshipmen that the media are "teddy bears" and taking their questions is "no big deal" while showing them the Studio A press conference space.
A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs:
Big Pharma's top priority in Lame Duck is a self-serving scheme called “delinking.” This plan is to further rob America's seniors, who already pay the highest prices in the world, and maximize profits by undermining market-based incentives for pharmacy benefit managers to secure savings on prescription drugs.
This Big Pharma money grab in the Medicare Part D program would saddle seniors and taxpayers with higher health care costs of $13 billion to bail out big drug companies with a nearly $11 billion profit windfall.
Our seniors cannot afford increased health care costs. Stop Big Pharma’s money grab – reject "delinking!"
MONDAY’S ANSWER: Brad Fitch was the first to correctly guess that Herbert Hoover helped raise funds for the "Belgian Relief Effort" during World War I.
TODAY’S QUESTION, from Brad: Which successfully elected president got the lowest percentage of support from the state in which he was born?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.
