Trump pick Duffy says EVs should pay to use roads

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the hearing will resume at 12:25 p.m. ET with questioning from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

— Kevin Breuninger

Rubio says he supports NATO, but also says there is a question of what role the U.S. should play in the alliance in the future.

“The NATO alliance is a very important alliance, I believe that,” Rubio said. “Without NATO, there is no end to the Cold War.”

“But what’s important for the United States is not just to have defense allies, it’s to have capable defense allies. Allies who are capable of defending their region,” he said.

“And I think there is a question to be asked, I’m not stating a public policy opinion, I’m stating a question to be asked, and that is, should the role of the United States in NATO in the 21st century be the primary defense role, or as a backstop to aggression, with countries in the region assuming more of that responsibility by contributing more?”

– Dan Mangan

Bondi vowed to “not politicize” the office of the attorney general and to administer justice “even-handedly throughout the country”, in response to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s questions on whether or not she would go after DOJ prosecutors or journalists.

“I believe in the freedom of speech, only if anyone commits a crime,” Bondi added when asked if she would prosecute journalists.

“It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime. It’s a prosecutor’s job to start with a crime and look for a name,” Sen. Whitehouse said, which Bondi agreed with.

“I think the concern is that weaponization of the Justice Department may well occur under your tenure, and we want to make sure that that’s not the case, that you remain independent, that you remain able to and willing to tell the president no when that’s necessary to protect the Constitution and the integrity of the department,” Whitehouse said.

— Ece Yildirim

Bondi defended Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, when questioned about a list of so-called Deep State executive-branch officials — dubbed an “enemies list” by critics — in his 2023 book.

“You’re clearly talking about Kash Patel,” Bondi said when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked if she would hire someone who had such a list.

“I don’t believe he has an enemies list,” she said.

“He has great experience,” Bondi said of Patel. “I have known Kash, and I believe that Kash is the right person at this time for this job.”

She added: “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.”

— Kevin Breuninger

Duffy just said electric vehicle users should pay for use of the country’s roads.

“They should pay for use of our roads,” Duffy told senators. “How to do that is a little more challenging.”

Currently, the Highway Trust Fund, which is funded mostly through taxes on gasoline and diesel, builds and maintains roads and bridges. EVs, which account for about 10% of new vehicles sold last year, are heavier than gasoline-powered cars, and could contribute to more wear and tear, are heavier than gasoline-powered cars, and could contribute to more wear and tear.

Some states, like Michigan, add on registration fees for EVs since they don’t contribute through fuel taxes. The EV fee in that state is $155 and is charged in addition to any regular registration fees and $255 for trucks and buses.

— Leslie Josephs and Michael Wayland

When questioned by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Bondi committed to defend the Affordable Care Act.

“I will commit to protect the laws of the United States of America,” Bondi said.

The Supreme Court is going to be hearing challenges to preventative care requirements in Obamacare this spring. Bondi has previously pushed back on various measures in the ACA.

“I believe this is very different,” Bondi said, about the preventative care question before the Supreme Court.

— Ece Yildirim

Ratcliffe said that he wanted to “drill down and look carefully” at the mysterious phenomenon of “anomalous health incidents” also known as “Havana Syndrome.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, had asked Ratcliffe if he could “ensure that the CIA aggressively and objectively investigates the causes of the [Syndrome], including examining whether or not a foreign adversary is responsible for harming the men and women who are serving our country.”

Ratcliffe replied, “Obviously, we need to know if we have an adversary that is using a weapon against our people.”

— Kevin Breuninger

Protestors briefly interrupted the Senate hearing on Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy, oil industry executive Chris Wright.

“Fossil fuel CEOs are destroying communities like mine,” a protestor shouted while Wright was delivering his opening remarks. “Fossil fuel CEOs are profiting while destroying communities like mine.”

Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, a publicly traded oilfield services company headquartered in Denver. He has said in the past that “there is no climate crisis.”

Wright was interrupted again by another protest as he answered a question about his divestment plans. “Chris Wright can your fracking liquid put out the fires in LA? People are dying,” the protestor shouted.

— Spencer Kimball

When questioned on the results of the 2020 election, Bondi was reluctant to give a clear answer on whether or not she has doubts that Joe Biden won the majority of votes.

“I accept the results. I accept, of course that Joe Biden is President of the United States. But what I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for the campaign,” Bondi said. “I was on the ground in Pennsylvania and I saw many things there.”

In 2020 , the Trump campaign claimed voter fraud in Pennsylvania to discredit the results of the presidential election.

“I think that question deserves a yes or no. I think the length of your answer is an indication that you weren’t prepared to answer yes,” ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin said.

— Ece Yildirim

Ratcliffe said that he will never allow “political or personal biases to cloud our judgment” if confirmed to lead the CIA.

“We will conduct covert action at the direction of the President, going places no one else can go, and doing things no one else can do,” he said in his opening remarks.

“To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work,” he said.

“We must be the ultimate meritocracy,” he said. “I will not tolerate anything or anyone that distracts from our mission.”

The remarks came after Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in his own opening remarks, “I certainly hope to never again see another video statement or social media post from the CIA about diversity or equity or inclusion.”

— Kevin Breuninger

Rubio drew laughs at his confirmation hearing when he quipped in response to one of several protestors who disrupted the proceeding by yelling in Spanish.

“I get bilingual protestors,” cracked Rubio, a Cuban-American who is fluent in Spanish.

– Dan Mangan

Trump’s secretary of energy pick Chris Wright’s senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee began with opening statements from chairman Sen. Mike Lee.

— Ece Yildirim

Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., asked Ratcliffe “to reassure the men and women of the CIA that they need not fear reprisal for speaking truth to power.”

“I need your commitment that you will not fire or force out CIA employees because of their perceived political views, and that you will not ask these employees to place loyalty a political figure above loyalty to country,” Warner said.

The remarks came after Warner expressed concern that Trump has engaged in ” undeserved attacks upon the professional women and men of our intelligence agencies.”

— Kevin Breuninger

The Senate Commerce Committee kicked off its confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Transportation, former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc.

The airline industry has pushed back on a host of Biden-administration rules for air travelers, including automatic refunds for customers, and Duffy’s approach will be a key topic, closely watched by consumer advocates and airline executives.

Duffy nodded to a major industry concern: a shortfall of air traffic controllers in his opening testimony and he vowed to “restore global confidence in Boeing and to ensure our skies are safe,” pointing to ongoing struggles of the aerospace giant and top U.S. exporter.

— Leslie Josephs

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee began its hearing on Rubio’s nomination for secretary of state.

“Marco sees the values of our allies and democratic leaders who will stand up to our adversaries and who will work with the United States to deny footholds to communist China, Iran and Russia,” said Sen. Rick Scott, Rubio’s fellow Florida Republican.

– Dan Mangan

The Senate Intelligence Committee began its hearing on whether to confirm John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA.

— Kevin Breuninger

The National Border Patrol Council backed Bondi to be U.S. attorney general, saying in a statement that she “will ensure that our nation’s borders are not ignored anymore.”

— Kevin Breuninger

In her prepared opening remarks, Bondi praises Trump and vows to end “the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice.”

Bondi says her “overriding objective” is to “return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law.”

She also echoes a version of Trump’s campaign slogan, saying that, “If confirmed, I will do what it takes to make America safe again.”

— Kevin Breuninger

The Public Citizen advocacy group says Bondi is unsuitable as attorney general because of potential “multiple conflicts of interest for her and the” DOJ due to her prior work for 30 corporate and foreign lobbying clients.

“When Pam Bondi left her post as Florida Attorney General, she went right to work as a registered lobbyist for big corporations and registered foreign agent serving foreign interests,” said Public Citizen democracy advocate Jon Golinger. “The U.S. Attorney General should be the American people’s lawyer – not a corporate lobbyist with a closet full of conflicted clients, many of whom seek government contracts or are being investigated by the very Justice Department Bondi now seeks to lead.”

Public Citizen’s co-president, Lisa Gilbert, is scheduled to testify as a witness on Thursday at Bondi’s second confirmation hearing.

– Dan Mangan

Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi has arrived at the Hart Senate Office Building for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

— Ece Yildirim

Pam Bondi wasn’t Trump’s first choice to lead the Department of Justice — she replaced former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his bid for attorney general amid a swirl of sexual misconduct allegations and other controversies.

Bondi, the former AG of Florida and lobbyist, is a much safer pick by comparison. But she is likely to face intense scrutiny from Democrats over the extent of her loyalty to Trump, given their fears about how the incoming president might seek to wield the government’s justice system against his foes.

Bondi, 59, had helped lead the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank, and defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial in 2020.

She has also criticized the criminal cases that Trump faced prior to his election, including those brought by former special counsel Jack Smith, claiming that the legal system was weaponized.

— Kevin Breuninger

The process of appointing Trump’s Cabinet kicked off Tuesday with a contentious Senate confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth, one of the president-elect’s most controversial picks.

Despite Democrats’ best efforts to grill Hegseth on his relative lack of experience and a series of allegations about his past, the former Fox News host emerged from the hearing likely to be confirmed.

There were some tense moments, however. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., zeroed in on Hegseth’s admitted past infidelities and a 2017 sexual assault accusation against him.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and others pressed Hegseth about his past comments opposing women in combat.

But Hegseth got a warm embrace from Republicans. A key GOP holdout, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, said later Tuesday that she would vote to confirm him.

— Kevin Breuninger

A scheduled confirmation hearing today for South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick for to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was abruptly postponed late Tuesday afternoon.

A former member of the House, Noem’s confirmation process was expected to be the most controversial of today’s slate.

The reason for the postponement was given, but The Hill newspaper reported that it was “due to a delay on the FBI background check” for Noem.

— Christina Wilkie