Three of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks prepared to face skepticism and intense grilling from Democratic senators during their confirmation hearings Thursday.
What we’re following
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s second hearing: Kennedy will have the second of two confirmation hearings for his Health and Human Services Secretary nomination. He will appear before the Health Committee a day after his hearing before the Finance Committee.
- Tulsi Gabbard for DNI Secretary: Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, is expected to face tough questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee over past comments about Russia and a 2017 visit with Syria’s now-deposed leader.
- Kash Patel’s hearing: Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, will likely encounter deeply skeptical questioning from Democratic senators Thursday about his loyalty to the president and stated desire to overhaul the bureau.
Here’s the latest:
Nominee Russ Vought advances for budget director despite uproar over funding freeze
Senate Budget Committee Republicans advanced Vought’s confirmation over the objections of Democrats who call him a “threat to democracy.”
Committee Republicans voted 11-0 in a rare session off the Senate floor after Democrats boycotted the meeting.
“He is a threat to our democracy,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the committee’s top Democrat. “We’re here to say that is not okay.”
Vought was a chief architect of Project 2025 and instrumental in the White House’s federal funding freeze this week, which sparked panic in communities across the country. Advocacy organizations challenged the freeze and the White House quickly rescinded it.
Cassidy remains deeply skeptical on what Kennedy would do for vaccinations
The Louisiana Republican approached Kennedy at the conclusion of the hearing for a brief handshake and exchange, after once again expressing deep skepticism over whether Kennedy would promote vaccinations through the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cassidy said that his experience as a physician has showed how imperative it was to stress the life-saving powers of vaccines.
Intel committee closes public hearing with Gabbard, next is classified session
The Senate Intelligence Committee has adjourned the confirmation hearing for Gabbard after nearly three hours.
Next up is a classified, closed session with the nominee, where members are able to question her more in depth on issues that are sensitive and could not be broached in a public hearing.
Sen. Cotton, the chair, ended the public hearing by saying he hopes to quickly move to a committee vote on Gabbard. Some members have raised concerns about whether the vote will happen in public or behind closed doors. Some Trump supporters want it to be public so that any Republicans who vote against her will be immediately identified.
A heated exchange between RFK Jr. and Bernie Sanders
Kennedy’s hearing is ending after a heated exchange with Sen. Bernie Sanders.
As the Vermont Independent pressed Trump’s nominee on his views on vaccines, Kennedy shot back by saying that members of Congress, including Sanders, were receiving money from pharmaceutical companies.
The line drew cheers and applause from Kennedy’s supporters in the room.
Sanders wasn’t having any of it. He retorted that he doesn’t take money from organizations or groups that represent the drug-making industry.
Booker to Patel: ‘What are you hiding?’
Democrats are scrutinizing Patel’s appearance before a Washington grand jury investigating Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after Patel received immunity for his testimony.
Patel, who has said he was present as Trump declassified broad categories of materials, was granted a limited form of immunity after invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an earlier grand jury appearance.
Sen. Cory Booker pushed Patel to explain what he told the grand jury, but Patel told the Democrat to get a transcript of the secret proceeding instead.
Booker replied: “You are free to tell people. What are you hiding from Congress?”
A judge dismissed the classified documents case against Trump last year, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.
Kennedy won’t identify the public health scientists he said could be fired
Kennedy was pressed about recent statements he’s made threatening to fire staffers at the National Institutes of Health and other public health agencies.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks asked Kennedy if there is a “watch list” of scientists who could be targeted for termination.
“Not that I know of,” Kennedy responded.
Alsobrooks is a Democrat representing Maryland, where NIH is headquartered. When she asked which federal scientists should be replaced, Kennedy said: “the ones who are corrupt.”
And for the second day in a row, Kennedy falsely accused NIH of quashing research into multiple causes of Alzheimer’s. The NIH’s $3.8 billion budget for Alzheimer’s and similar dementias funds researching a range of factors that may contribute to the disease.
Dems question whether Gabbard will push back if Trump asks her to break the law
In a round of follow up questions, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden asked Gabbard if she would be willing to refuse an illegal order from Trump, specifically regarding the role of inspector generals who the president fired in his first week back in office.
“If President Trump orders you to withhold appropriated funds from the inspector general, would you refuse that illegal order?” Wyden asked.
Her response: “I don’t believe for a second President Trump would ask me to do something that would break the law.”
Gabbard retreats from her criticism of Soleimani killing
When Trump approved a 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Gabbard at the time denounced it, saying there was no justification.
Soleimani had been an ally of Syria’s Assad and a top player in attacks by Iran and its allies.
Asked by New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gilliland whether she still opposed the strike, Gabbard indicated no. It turned out that “President Trump was right,” and there was no escalation in the Middle East as she had feared, Gabbard said.
Gabbard didn’t directly answer a related question on whether she agreed with Trump’s decision to pull security from his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and an aid who have been targeted for assassination by Iran because of that strike.
‘Mr. Snowden is watching these proceedings’
GOP Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said Snowden has been watching Gabbard’s confirmation hearing and that he hoped she could disavow on national television what he did.
Young referenced a social media post Snowden made earlier Thursday saying Gabbard “will be required to disown all prior support for whistleblowers as a condition of confirmation today.”
“I encourage her to do so. Tell them I harmed national security and the sweet, soft feelings of staff. In D.C., that’s what passes for the pledge of allegiance,” Snowden wrote in the X post.
Young said that this may be the “rare instance” where he agrees with Snowden and that the nominee should publicly distance herself from him despite her previous comments calling him “brave.”
She has refused to say Snowden was a traitor.
GOP senators push back on ‘conspiracy theorist’ label of Patel
Republican senators have repeatedly dismissed characterizations that Patel is a conspiracy theorist, extremist or sycophant, frequently citing longstanding grievances held by the GOP base against federal investigators.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., invoked the “Russia collusion hoax” multiple times in his remarks. He then asked Patel to promise to only go after “bad” actors in the agency.
“Don’t go over there and burn that place down. Go over there and make it better. Can you commit to us today, that you will do that?” Kennedy said.
Patel promised to make the agency “the premier law enforcement agency in the world.”
Patel sidesteps 2020 election questions
He acknowledged that President Joe Biden was certified as president of the United States but did not confirm whether he believed Biden had directly won that election when asked directly by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.
“President Biden’s election was certified, he was sworn in, and he served as the president of the United States,” Patel replied when asked by Hirono whether Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.
It is a similar comment made by others nominated by Trump, who never conceded the 2020 election and worked to overturn his election loss in its aftermath.
Patel pledges to discipline FBI members involved in what GOP sees as overreach
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley pressed Patel on a range of conservative grievances regarding the FBI’s investigations, including of potential extremists in Catholic faith communities, people disrupting local public forums over education curricula and COVID lockdown policies.
“Once again, I can’t imagine I could have ever thought this would happen to the United States of America,” Hawley said.
“When you find out who was involved in this policy within the FBI, who agreed with it, who implemented it, who encouraged it, when you find out that, Mr. Patel, will you do an internal investigation?”
“Absolutely, senator,” Patel said, asserting that he would also discipline any agents involved and work to prevent such investigations from happening again.
Senator credits Kennedy for his family’s decision to not vaccinate granddaughter
Two Republican senators used the word ‘pincushion’ to describe kids who get full slates of recommended vaccines.
One even praised Kennedy for raising questions about the number of vaccines children get.
“I’ll have my first granddaughter in the next couple of weeks, and my son and his wife have done their research about vaccines and she’s not going to be a pincushion. We’re not going to allow that to happen. You brought that up,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
“As a father of six, when when my kids come out from getting their vaccines, they look like a freaking pincushion,” added Mullin.
Voices rise as Gabbard refuses to say whether leaker Snowden was a ‘traitor’
Gabbard is dodging questions — from both parties — on Snowden, providing some of the most dramatic moments in her hearing.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said Snowden placed lives and U.S. programs in danger, and asked Gabbard twice, point blank: “Was Snowden a traitor?”
“I’m focused on the future,” Gabbard said, and turned to how she’d prevent leaks.
Colorado Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet pressed her on the same question, his volume rising each time he asked.
Bennet finally turned to lamenting Gabbard’s nomination. Do we have to have a candidate “who can’t answer whether Snowden was a traitor five times today?” he asked.
A mother’s anguish in the RFK Jr. hearing
Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, said questioning whether Kennedy has really changed his anti-vaccine views isn’t political – it has real-world ramifications.
Hassan related the anguish of wondering if she did something during her pregnancy to cause the severe cerebral palsy in her now 36-year-old son.
She said Kennedy’s refusal to accept that a 1990s report linking measles vaccine to autism has now been thoroughly discredited is stumping the search for the real causes of autism and other disorders like her son’s.
“He is re-litigating and churning settled science so we can’t go forward and find out what the cause of autism is and treat these kids and help these families,” she said. “It freezes us in place.”
Kennedy urges caution with anti-obesity drugs
He said the new class of weight-loss medications such as Wegovy are “miracle drugs.”
But he said they should not be the first, front-line treatment for 6-year-old children, and that prescriptions should include recommendations for diet and exercise.
That aligns with guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommend treating children with lifestyle interventions, diet and exercise before considering medications for kids as young as 12 and surgery for those as young as 13. Similar guidelines apply to adults.
Patel says there will be ‘no politicization at the FBI’
Pressed about whether the FBI under his leadership would remain independent from the White House, Patel said investigations will only be launched when there’s a “factual, articulable legal basis to do so.”
Asked by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons about whether he would use the agency to go after Trump’s political enemies, Patel suggested he would “not go backward” and vowed there will be “no politicization at the FBI.”
“There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as the FBI director,” he said.
The line of questioning cuts to the heart of Democrats’ concerns over Patel’s nomination. Trump repeatedly suggested while campaigning that he would use the justice system to exact revenge on people involved in the criminal cases against him.
RFK Jr. cites England’s Cass report on gender-affirming care
Kennedy cited the Cass report when asked about gender-affirming care for young people by Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.
The report commissioned by England’s National Health Service and led by retired pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass found “no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.”
England’s health service stopped prescribing puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria outside of a research setting, following recommendations from Cass’ interim report.
In the United States, the Cass report has been critiqued by medical experts for relying on flawed reviews of evidence. Major medical groups such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics support access to such care.
Gabbard pressed on supportive statements of Putin
Gabbard has often made comments in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stands on his invasion of Ukraine. New Mexico Democratic Martin Heinrich pressed her on that in a brief exchange.
“Who’s responsible for the war in Ukraine?” Heinrich asked.
“Putin started the war in Ukraine,” Gabbard answered.
Republican Sen. Jerry Moran asked Gabbard if Russia would “get a pass” under her.
Gabbard said she was offended by the question.
“No country, group or individual will get a pass,” she said.
Gabbard refuses to disavow her controversial meeting with Syria’s Assad
Sen. Martin Heinrich questioned Gabbard to reveal more information about her two-hour meeting with Assad, noting that few details about their conversation have ever emerged.
Gabbard said she used the opportunity to press Assad on his human rights record.
“I asked him tough questions about his own regime’s actions,” Gabbard said.
She refused to disavow her trip, saying that leaders, whether in Congress or the executive branch, could stand to travel to places and meet with all kinds of people for the purpose of learning and listening.
She also denied any knowledge that the two Arab-American brothers who arranged the trip were linked to a right-wing Syrian political party. And she insisted that she paid for her own travel, although records she submitted to Congress show she only reimbursed the men for travel after it became a matter of public controversy.
Kennedy won’t commit to keeping abortion pill available
Sen. Tammy Baldwin is pressing Kennedy about his position on mifepristone, the pill that accounts for 6 out of 10 abortions in the U.S.
The pill was approved in 2000 and scientists have repeatedly confirmed its safety and effectiveness. Less than a fraction of 1% of women experience serious side effects requiring emergency care.
Kennedy said Trump hasn’t decided what he will do about the drug, and “I will implement his policy.”
Baldwin pointed to voluminous research supporting the drug’s use without more restrictions.
“You’ve been talking about show me the data, show me the studies,” she said. “You would have that policy regardless of what the studies say?”
Kennedy hearing lays bare tension in GOP on vaccines, science
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, animatedly chided his colleagues for scrutinizing Kennedy’s skeptical stances on vaccinations.
“We can’t question science?” Mullin said.
Cassidy said his experience as a physician has shown him that vaccines save lives. Throughout the hearing, he listened intently as Democrats continued to press Kennedy on his past statements on vaccines.
Gabbard is asked about a reported meeting with Hezbollah leaders
Under questioning from Republican Susan Collins from Maine, Gabbard pushed back on reports that U.S. intelligence picked up chatter that she had met with leaders of the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Collins asked if Gabbard had knowingly ever met with any members of the terrorist group.
“No and it is an absurd accusation,” Gabbard replied.
The intelligence chatter, first reported by the New York Times this week, came during a Jan. 2017 trip when Gabbard met with then Syrian President Bashar Assad. She also transited through Lebanon on her way into and out of Syria — a part of the trip that has drawn scrutiny from journalists and members of the committee.
Patel says critics are misleadingly using his words against him
He’s accusing them of taking controversial statements he has made out of context.
Democrats are repeatedly highlighting Patel’s statements suggesting the Jan. 6 rioters were unfairly prosecuted and that the bureau helped instigate the violence carried out by the mob, among other things.
“Anyone that thinks my 16 years of service isn’t exemplary of how I would proceed if confirmed ... is intentionally putting false information into the public,” Patel said.
His remarks followed a forceful speech from Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who said Patel’s own words are “warnings” that should not be overlooked.
“There is an unfathomable difference between a seeming facade being constructed around this nominee here today, and what he has actually done and said in real life when left to his own devices,” Whitehouse said.
Democratic senator questions RFK on social media post about 9/11
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, asked why Kennedy said that he would “not take sides” as conspiracy theorists question what happened during the attacks.
Kennedy responded that he had been taught from a young age to question authority.
“My father told me when I was 13 years old, he said, ‘People in authority lie,’” Kennedy said.
GOP holdout grills Gabbard on her prior support of Snowden
Republican Sen. Susan Collins is one of the few Republicans who have not yet supported the nominee. She asked if Gabbard would support or recommend clemency to Snowden if she were confirmed as director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, who earlier said that Snowden exposed “egregious illegal and unconstitutional programs,” said she would not take actions to advocate for anything regarding Snowden.
Gabbard dodges answering whether she still thinks leaker Edward Snowden was ‘brave’
Gabbard repeatedly refused to answer the question from Warner, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee.
He pressed her on the point, noting that she sponsored legislation while in Congress to end prosecution of Snowden for leaking classified security information.
Gabbard answered that “Snowden broke the law” and that she didn’t support “all” of his release of information. That said, she added, Snowden exposed “egregious illegal and unconstitutional programs.”
Gabbard says she’s nobody’s ‘puppet’
Gabbard issued a stark warning to the American public, trying to get ahead of aggressive questioning on her past comments and actions related to Russia and Syria.
“You may hear lies and smears in this hearing that will challenge my loyalty to and my love for our country,” Gabbard said. “Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience and the Constitution of the United States.”
She said critics are “accusing me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters.”
What “truly unsettles” political opponents is her refusal to be “their puppet.”
Gabbard has scathing comments about US intelligence community
“Faulty, inadequate, or weaponized intelligence have led to costly failures and the undermining of our national security,” Gabbard told senators.
She cited the intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq, and what she said was the intelligence community’s mishandling of intelligence on Hunter Biden.
“The bottom line is this must end.”
She called Trump’s election “a clear mandate from the American people to break this cycle of failure and the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community and begin to restore trust in those who’ve been charged with the critical task of securing our nation.”
Homeland Security freezes funding for immigration-related nonprofits
The Department of Homeland Security is pausing federal money for nonprofits providing immigration services.
Secretary Kristi Noem’s memo says she’s concerned the grants may be “encouraging or inducing illegal immigration.” Grants that “touch in any way on immigration” are now on hold, effective immediately, pending a review.
Many such grants help communities near the U.S.-Mexico border that are dealing with recent arrivals. Advocates say they provide vital services; critics say they essentially facilitate illegal immigration.
Cities including New York, Denver and Chicago also receive grant funding to help deal with immigration influxes.
The order — signed Tuesday — didn’t say whether their funding was affected.
Kennedy also refuses to reject discredited theory that vaccines cause autism
Cassidy pressed Kennedy to “unequivocally” say that measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism.
Kennedy refused, calling for more research on the issue, despite the theory being long discredited.
“The data has been there for a long time,” Cassidy said.
Kennedy won’t agree that COVID-19 vaccines save lives
Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Kennedy if he agrees that COVID-19 vaccines are lifesaving.
Kennedy refused to be pinned down, saying there’s no good surveillance system.
In fact U.S. and international researchers have clearly shown the safety and benefit of those vaccines. When vaccines are cleared for use in the U.S., they’re continued to be tracked through multiple monitoring systems including electronic medical records from health care systems.
“You’re applying for the job -- clearly you should know this. And the scientific community has established that COVID vaccines saved millions of lives and you’re casting doubt,” Sanders said.
GOP allies blast media coverage of Gabbard’s nomination
Former Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina introduced Gabbard, outlining what he called a “coordinated effort” to “kill” her nomination to lead America’s national intelligence agencies.
“I experienced firsthand coordination to influence her nomination before the United States Senate and with the American people,” Burr said, without providing any details.
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, a fellow female veteran, echoed that sentiment. She said “mainstream media” has not painted “the full picture” of Gabbard.
Republican senator calls out Kennedy’s anti-vaccine claims
Cassidy said data showing both the measles and hepatitis B vaccines were safe and not associated with autism has been clear for more than 16 years — and asked why Kennedy hasn’t taken the time to look at data that refutes his anti-vaccine claims.
Kennedy said if he’s shown the data he will recommend the vaccines — and “not only will I do that but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise.”
Patel questioned about Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons
“There can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement and anyone, anyone that commits an act of violence against law enforcement must be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned,” Patel said.
He has been an outspoken critic of how the Justice Department has prosecuted and detained rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and brutalized police.
Durbin pressed him on whether he supports Trump’s sweeping pardons of rioters who committed violence on Jan. 6.
Patel’s response: “I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.”
Democrat condemns Gabbard’s support for leaker Edward Snowden
Warner said Gabbard had “celebrated” former contractor’s Edward Snowden’s leaks of classified U.S. intelligence — leaks that he said put American forces at risk.
Warner noted Gabbard had pushed legislation seeking a pardon for Snowden, who has since become a Russian citizen.
“You think that someone who did bold secrets and then ran off to Russia should be celebrated as brave,” Warner said.
Patel says he would remain focused on FBI’s core mission
He said that’s to “investigate fully wherever there is a constitutional factual basis to do so.”
“Protecting the rights of the Constitution is of the utmost importance to me, and has been every single time I’ve taken that oath of office,” he said in his opening statement.
His comments are unlikely to ease Democrats’ concerns that he might use the agency to go after Trump’s political adversaries. Patel has repeatedly stated a desire to rid the government of “conspirators” and has suggested that a Trump victory could result in investigations of lawmakers who have committed “federal felonies” and “covered up the truth from the American people.”
Gabbard opposed a government surveillance program — and now supports it
One of the biggest policy disputes in Gabbard’s confirmation hearing is her longstanding opposition to a government surveillance program called FISA Section 702. The law permits the U.S. government to compel electronic communications providers such as Google and Microsoft to turn over communications on their servers with foreign intelligence value.
It’s a powerful authority that turns U.S. technology providers into the eyes and ears of U.S. intelligence. It’s been controversial on Capitol Hill because while it does not permit the U.S. government to target Americans, sometimes their communications are swept up when they communicate with foreigners.
The U.S. government has taken the position that it is permitted to search its database for information on Americans in limited instances. Gabbard has previously proposed repealing the law but has since said she changed her mind and supports the authority.
Cassidy to Kennedy — Can I trust you?
Cassidy was blunt — he’s not sure if Kennedy’s claim that he’s not anti-vaccine is real.
“I’ve seen the benefits of vaccines. I know they save lives. I know they’re a crucial part of keeping our country healthy,” Cassidy said.
But Cassidy said his constituents have told him they “partly credit you for their decision to not vaccinate their child.”
Cassidy asked if Kennedy would tell mothers to question doctors about vaccines. For many, he said, that “would be permission to not vaccinate their children.”
“Your past undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me. Can I trust that that is now in the past?” he asked.
Health committee chairman shares how vaccines could have saved his patient
Under questioning on Army training accidents from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll said that from what he’s seen, Wednesday night’s collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet over the Potomac River was “an accident that seems to be preventable.”
Driscoll said there are appropriate times to take risks and there are inappropriate ones.
He told senators he would work with the Senate Armed Services Committee to examine operations.
“I think we might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take a training risk, and it may not be near an airport like Reagan.”
Top Democrat on Intel panel raises ‘significant concerns’ about Gabbard
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said that despite several meetings with Gabbard, he remains concerned about her past actions and comments and how that could jeopardize America’s standing on the world stage.
Warner said these concerns “lead me to question whether you can develop the trust necessary between us and our allies.”
“If they stop sharing that intelligence with the United States, we are less safe,” Warner said.
GOP chair defends Gabbard’s background, ‘unconventional views’
Cotton is defending Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies, saying Gabbard has served the U.S. and passed all the necessary background checks for this role.
“Some of my Democratic colleagues may criticize Ms. Gabbard’s statements and actions since she saw the light and left the Democratic Party,” Cotton said. “But I sincerely hope that no one will question Ms. Gabbard’s patriotism and integrity.”
Cotton said he can only laugh at some critics who say that Ms. Gabbard has unconventional views.
Tom Cotton wants change at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Cotton’s opening statement at Gabbard’s hearing takes aim at the position and structure of the office that was born out of 9/11 intelligence failures to coordinate among the many agencies that make up the U.S intelligence community.
The job of Director of National Intelligence has sometimes been criticized for having lots of responsibility without a lot of power. The job involves trying to coordinate between 18 different agencies that are nestled under a half dozen different cabinet agencies, which all have their own interests and leadership and priorities.
Cotton is vowing to try to reform the office and send some of its personnel back to their home agencies.
GOP committee chair closely questions RFK on vaccines
Kennedy is getting tough questions on how he would lead the country’s vaccination programs from a crucial Republican senator.
Cassidy leaned his previous experience as a physician and how he led vaccination campaigns that he called life-saving.
“What will you tell the American mother, will you tell her to vaccinate her child or not?” asked Cassidy, whose vote could determine whether Kennedy’s nomination survives.
Patel’s own words are being used against him
Durbin’s opening statement shows how Democrats hope to use Patel’s litany of provocative statements against him.
Patel has appeared on dozens of podcasts over the years and published a book called “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for Our Democracy,” leaving behind an extensive record of his controversial views.
“He traffics in debunked conspiracy theories that serve or benefit his political beliefs,” Durbin said.
Durbin highlighted Patel’s comments about the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. Patel suggested that the FBI was “planning January 6 for a year” and helped produce a song called “Justice for All,” that was recorded over a prison phone line, sung by a group of Jan. 6 defendants.
Sen. Dick Durbin warns Patel against politicizing the FBI
Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, began his remarks by warning about the FBI’s past surveillance of civil rights leaders and political opponents during the tenure of J. Edgar Hoover. He noted that the Senate had passed reforms in 1976 “intended to insulate the position from political influence.”
“During the time I served on this committee, I’ve had the opportunity to consider four FBI director nominations. Each one was a Republican, and I voted for all,” said Durbin. His dismissed claims that former President Joe Biden had “weaponized” the FBI for political ends as Patel has previously argued.
John McCain’s daughter comes to support Gabbard’s confirmation
chatting with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona in the Senate hearing room ahead of Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence.
McCain has been a vocal supporter of Gabbard since she was nominated by Trump to be a member of his Cabinet.
Army Secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll is questioned at a delicate moment
Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll opened his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services only hours after the crash of an Army helicopter into a passenger flight over the Potomac River.
Driscoll spoke about the many victims who died in the crash and guaranteed that he’ll be committed to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing begins
Kennedy is now appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, known as HELP.
It’s a crucial day for both Kennedy and the committee chairman, Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who could be an all-important swing vote for confirmation.
Cassidy, a doctor himself, closely questioned Kennedy yesterday before the Senate’s Finance Committee, while his Republican colleagues gave the nominee a warmer reception.
It’s close quarters today, with senators, aides, reporters and Kennedy’s supporters packed into the 5th floor hearing room of a Senate office building.
Grassley decries ‘false smears’ as he opens Patel confirmation hearing
Chairman Grassley says Patel has faced “unfounded attacks” and “false smears.” But Grassley said Patel has “precisely the qualifications we need at this time when the FBI is not being respected by our public.”
Grassley is touting Patel’s background managing large intelligence and defense bureaucracies while fighting for government transparency.
“Public trust in the FBI is low,” Grassley said, repeating Republican claims that the agency has been used in recent years as a political weapon. “It’s your job to restore the public trust and return the FBI to its core mission of fighting crime.”
A large group in the room are wearing shirts from Moms Demand Action, a liberal gun safety group. Others are wearing pro-Second Amendment clothing.
Close Trump aides join Patel at hearing
They include Sebastian Gorka, Ric Grennell and former Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who are present in the hearing room with him.
The confirmation hearing is getting underway for Kash Patel
President Donald Trump’s pick to become FBI director is expected to face tough questioning from Democrats about his loyalty to the Republican president and his staunch criticism over the years over the agency he’s been tapped to lead.
FBI wrestles with a spike in sexual misconduct claims and male-dominated culture
ranging from assault to harassment. Bureau leaders pledged to eliminate the longstanding problem, but an Associated Press investigation found nearly 300 sexual misconduct allegations involving agents and staff since its 2021 launch of an agency-wide crackdown.
The FBI says the numbers show reforms are working to make reporting misconduct easier. Critics say the bureau is struggling to protect women in a male-dominated workplace.
“Enough is enough,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, told the AP in a statement. The Senate Judiciary chairman vowed “to get answers and root out further FBI misconduct.”
Patel’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Kennedy is set to appear before the Senate health committee
All eyes will be on the chairman of the committee, Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and his opening remarks.
At Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee, it was Cassidy who pressed Kennedy the most. When asking him to detail his plans for Medicare and Medicaid, Kennedy responded with few answers and misstated some basic facts about how the federally funded programs work and how many people they serve.
Cassidy’s vote is crucial for Kennedy since he also serves on the finance committee that will decide whether the health secretary nominee makes it to the Senate floor.
Vance posts a message sending condolences in response to DC plane crash
Vice President JD Vance posted a message on Truth Social sending condolences after officials confirmed all passengers on the American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter near DC had died.
“A heartbreaking tragedy for Wichita, and for our entire country,” he said. “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
Takeaways from RFK Jr.’s first confirmation hearing
Kennedy was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities he tried to make the case to become Trump’s health secretary.
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee expressed hope Kennedy could help reduce chronic diseases and health care costs. Democrats repeatedly used Kennedy’s own quotes and transcripts from his books and public appearances to pin him down on issues including vaccines and abortion.
Why does RFK Jr. get two confirmation hearings?
To get to the U.S. Senate for a vote of his nomination, Kennedy needs to hearings before the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee as well as the finance committee.
Oversight of the Health and Human Services agencies is shared between the two committees. The finance committee is involved because the sprawling $1.7 trillion agency is responsible for a huge part of the nation’s economy — overseeing insurance for nearly half the country, funneling billions of dollars to the states for Medicaid and providing health insurance for the nation’s older Americans through Medicare.
Meanwhile, the HELP committee also has oversight of the agency’s program and agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.
Ben Curtis / AP
Who is Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI?
Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a Capitol Hill staffer who helped investigate the Russia probe.
Patel has called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who have sought additional resources for the bureau.
And though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters' phone records during leak investigations, Patel has said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. He will appear before the Judiciary Committee.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for DNI Secretary?
Gabbard is a former Democratic House member from Hawaii who has been accused of echoing Russian propaganda.
She unsuccessfully sought the 2020 presidential nomination and left the party in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him.
Gabbard has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. If confirmed, she would come to the role as an outsider compared with her predecessor, Avril Haines, who spent several years in top national security and intelligence positions. She will appear before the Intelligence Committee.
Today’s confirmation hearing schedule
The nominations process for Trump’s appointees is picking up pace, with some confirmed by the Senate and other hearings scheduled for more of his Cabinet picks.
Here’s the schedule for Thursday Jan. 30:
- 6:30 a.m. Kash Patel, FBI
- 7 a.m. Tulsi Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- 7 a.m. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services