For a second day in a row, the United States Senate has weighed nominees for key positions in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, grilling candidates on their backgrounds and qualifications.

Wednesday was a busy day for the Senate, as it held hearings for six Trump nominees, including heavy-hitters like Senator Marco Rubio — his pick to be secretary of state — and Pam Bondi, tapped for the attorney general’s seat.

The hearings come as Republican leaders in Congress hope to give Trump a strong start to his second term, which begins on Monday.

High-level cabinet positions need Senate approval, and Republicans hold 53 seats to the Democrats’ 45.

Still, controversial nominees will need every vote possible to succeed in their appointment. Wednesday’s hearings, for instance, were preceded by fiery proceedings a day earlier, as senators pressed Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defence, over allegations of excessive drinking and sexual assault.

Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday’s testimonies before the Senate.

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Rubio flashes hawkish streak

During his testimony, Rubio, a US senator from Florida, pledged to put US interests “before anything and everything else” if appointed as secretary of state.

Rubio also flashed his stripes as a foreign policy hawk, denouncing China as the “biggest threat” the US faces in the 21st century.

“If we don’t change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis — from our security to our health — will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not,” Rubio said.

He added that China had “repressed and lied and cheated and hacked and stolen [its] way into global superpower status”.

Wednesday’s remarks were consistent with Rubio’s track record of taking an adversarial approach to perceived US rivals.

Still, he praised US alliances like NATO, offering a counterpoint to the more aggressive posture of Trump himself.

“The NATO alliance is a very important alliance. I believe that,” he said.

“Without the NATO alliance, there is no end to the Cold War. In fact, without the NATO alliance, it’s quite possible that much of what today we know as Europe would have fallen victim to aggression.”

But he echoed Trump’s position that other NATO allies “need to contribute more to their own defence” and rely less on US support.

Ratcliffe pledges no political bias

In a separate hearing, John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), assured lawmakers that he would not persecute members of the intelligence community for insufficient loyalty to Trump.

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“We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products,” Ratcliffe said of his aims as CIA director.

A former federal prosecutor, Ratcliffe previously served as the director of national intelligence (DNI) during Trump’s first term in office, from 2017 to 2021.

Like Rubio, Ratcliffe is expected to sail through the confirmation process. But senators expressed concern that Trump’s picks in high-ranking law enforcement roles may seek to use their powers for political aims.

Ratcliffe had previously pledged to “clean out corrupt actors for our national security and intelligence apparatus”.

On Wednesday, he faced direct questioning about whether that process would weed out employees based on political preference.

“Will you or any of your staff impose a political litmus test for CIA employees?” Senator Angus King asked.

“No,” Ratcliffe answered. He insisted that removing personnel for their views was “something that I would never do”.

Bondi dodges questions of Smith probe

Trump’s pick for attorney general is expected to be among the most contentious, given the president-elect’s long history of statements insisting that he will prosecute political rivals during his second term in office.

That put Bondi under the microscope during her Senate hearing on Wednesday.

She tried to assuage those concerns with some of her statements, insisting that “politics has to be taken out of this system”.

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“No one should be prosecuted for political purposes,” she added. As head of the Department of Justice, she would be the federal government’s top prosecutor.

But when pressed about whether she would open investigations into specific figures like former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Bondi declined to provide clear-cut answers.

“It would be irresponsible of me to make a commitment regarding anything,” she said when asked about Smith, who led two criminal indictments against Trump.

Bondi has previously echoed Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen through massive fraud and voting irregularities.

On Wednesday, she said she would evaluate potential pardons for people who took part in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, on a “case-by-case basis”.

Duffy to pursue accountability from Boeing

In a relatively tame testimony, Sean Duffy, Trump’s choice to be secretary of transportation, said that he would look for a way to make electric vehicles (EVs) pay for road maintenance largely financed by gasoline taxes.

He also asserted that Boeing, a top US plane manufacturer, needed “tough love” to meet adequate safety standards.

“I think we have to make sure they are implementing their safety plan,” Duffy said, adding the aerospace company needed to “restore global confidence” in its brand.

The comments come as Boeing has faced persistent scrutiny following midair safety mishaps in 2024, as well as fraud charges.

“We have to push the [Federal Aviation Administration] to make sure they’re implementing their safety plan,” said Duffy, a former lobbyist, TV personality and member of the US House of Representatives.

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