Some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial executive branch nominees are set to appear before Congressional committees next week. The commander-in-chief promises that they will shake up their respective departments if they are approved by the Senate.
Kashyap “Kash” Patel has been nominated to be the FBI’s next director and will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Director of National Intelligence (DNI) pick Tulsi Gabbard has a hearing scheduled on the same day before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
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Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tapped to become director of the Department of Health and Human Services, will face questions on Wednesday from members of the Senate Finance Committee, which directly oversees the department. He’ll also appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee on Thursday for a courtesy hearing.
The Senate’s “advice and consent” role allows the body to review the president’s appointments and provide oversight on key positions. The picks require a majority vote in the Senate with Republicans holding a 53-47 vote advantage over Democrats.
But all face tough battles to get over the line. The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary on Thursday with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, R-Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, breaking ranks.
Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau’s work as it investigated ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
He held numerous national security roles during the first Trump administration and was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined that there had been no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.
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Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Devin Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ’s and FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
He’s been a loyal ally to Trump for years, finding common cause over their shared skepticism of government surveillance and the “deep state” — a catchall used by Trump to refer to unelected members of government bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, Trump has argued that Gabbard will bring a “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights and securing Peace through Strength.” The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters.
Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after she entered the 2020 White House race.
Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent, before becoming a member of the GOP last year and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign.
Critics have attempted to paint Gabbard as a national security risk who is sympathetic to U.S. adversaries.
However, more than 250 veterans signed a letter last month endorsing her nomination, including high-profile and nationally known names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.
Kennedy Jr. is also a contentious pick, and he could face opposition, even from Republicans. In particular, Kennedy’s views and past statements about vaccines have been scrutinized by both GOP and Democratic lawmakers.
GOP lawmakers have been concerned about Kennedy’s pro-abortion views that he has espoused in the past and his potential impact on the agriculture sector.
In what was a blockbuster move by the former Democrat, Kennedy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race as an Independent and endorsed Trump, vowing to “Make America Healthy Again,” should he be part of the new administration.
Fox News’ Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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