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US: Ratcliffe On Track For Confirmation Today, Bessent Vote Likely On Sun/Mon

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The Senate will vote at around 13:00 ET 18:00 GMT to confirm John Ratcliffe as President Donald Trump’s CIA Director. Ratcliffe will be the second confirmed Trump Cabinet official after Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

  • The Senate is also expected to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, teeing up a confirmation vote later in the week. Despite scrutiny from Democrats, Hegseth may be confirmed as soon as Friday. 
  • Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent appears on track for a full confirmation vote on Sunday or Monday, likewise Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem.
  • Trump’s Commerce Secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, is slated for a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing on January 29. 
  • Heath Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will also appear before his respective committee on Jan 29.
  • Senate Republicans have signalled the upper chamber will stay in session until the entirety of Trump’s Cabinet is confirmed, a potentially long session as Trump’s first term Cabinet wasn’t wholly confirmed until April.
  • Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) indicated Democrats are unlikely to submit to fast passage for Trump’s most polarising picks: “We can't be aggressive enough, because these nominees are really, many of them, absolutely repugnant to the rule of law and to the need for qualifications.”
  • Trump's nominee to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is the most at-risk nominee, with fresh questions over past statements regarding Edward Snowden and her relationship with former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
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The Senate will vote at around 13:00 ET 18:00 GMT to confirm John Ratcliffe as President Donald Trump’s CIA Director. Ratcliffe will be the second confirmed Trump Cabinet official after Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

  • The Senate is also expected to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, teeing up a confirmation vote later in the week. Despite scrutiny from Democrats, Hegseth may be confirmed as soon as Friday. 
  • Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent appears on track for a full confirmation vote on Sunday or Monday, likewise Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem.
  • Trump’s Commerce Secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, is slated for a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing on January 29. 
  • Heath Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will also appear before his respective committee on Jan 29.
  • Senate Republicans have signalled the upper chamber will stay in session until the entirety of Trump’s Cabinet is confirmed, a potentially long session as Trump’s first term Cabinet wasn’t wholly confirmed until April.
  • Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) indicated Democrats are unlikely to submit to fast passage for Trump’s most polarising picks: “We can't be aggressive enough, because these nominees are really, many of them, absolutely repugnant to the rule of law and to the need for qualifications.”
  • Trump's nominee to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is the most at-risk nominee, with fresh questions over past statements regarding Edward Snowden and her relationship with former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.