Some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial executive branch nominees are scheduled to appear before congressional committees next week. The commander-in-chief promised to reform his respective departments if approved by the Senate.
Kashyap “Kash” Patel has been nominated to be the next director of the FBI and is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the same day. A public hearing is scheduled.
Some of President Trump’s most controversial executive branch nominees are scheduled to appear before congressional committees next week. Kashyap “Kash” Patel (left) has been nominated to be the next director of the FBI, and Tulsi Gabbard (right) is President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence (DNI). (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY NETWORK/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, is scheduled to be questioned Wednesday by members of the Senate Finance Committee, which directly oversees the department. He is also scheduled to appear at a courtesy hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) on Thursday.
The Senate’s “advice and consent” role allows it to consider presidential appointments and provide oversight of key positions. Selection requires a majority vote in the Senate, with Republicans holding a 53-47 advantage over Democrats.
However, everyone faces a tough battle to cross the line. The Senate advanced Thursday’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s secretary of defense, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) leading the way. It broke.
Mr. Patel has called for fundamental changes at the FBI and was a vocal critic of the agency’s efforts to investigate ties between Russia and Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
He held numerous national security roles during the first Trump administration, including serving as lead investigator on the Congressional investigation into allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia, and the abuses of government oversight that led to the appointment of two special counsels. revealed. A co-conspirator and another person who decided the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.
President Trump nominated Patel to head the FBI. (Getty Images)
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Patel played an integral role in the drafting of a memo released by then-Chairman Devin Nunes in February 2018, in which the Justice Department and the FBI filed a lawsuit under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act against former Trump campaign aide Carter. It detailed the surveillance of Mr. Page.
He has been a staunch ally of President Trump for years, finding common cause around government surveillance and a shared skepticism of the “deep state” (President Trump’s collective term for unelected government officials). I’m finding out.
Trump, meanwhile, claimed that Gabbard would bring to the intelligence community “the fearlessness that defined her storied career in defending constitutional rights and securing peace through force.” The Director of National Intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, overseeing national intelligence programs and advising the president on national security issues.
Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve since 2021 after serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for approximately 17 years. She was elected to represent Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2012 election cycle and served as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek reelection to Congress after running for the White House in 2020.
Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022 and registered as an independent, but became a Republican last year and expressed full support for Trump during the presidential campaign.
Critics have sought to paint Gabbard as a national security danger sympathetic to America’s adversaries.
But last month, more than 250 veterans signed a letter supporting her nomination, including nationally known celebrities such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller. Included.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also a candidate and could face opposition. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
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Kennedy Jr. is also a controversial figure and could face opposition from Republicans. In particular, Kennedy’s views and past statements regarding vaccines are under scrutiny by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Republican lawmakers have been concerned about Kennedy’s past pro-abortion views and his potential impact on the agricultural sector.
In a move that has become a blockbuster hit for the former Democratic Party, Mr Kennedy will withdraw from the 2024 presidential race as an independent, vowing to “make America healthy again” if he becomes part of the new administration. supported.
FOX News’ Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
Send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow us on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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