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More details about the upcoming confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees are becoming available, including the dates and times of many of the hearings.

On January 10, the Senate Judiciary Committee will start its two-day confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) at 9:30 AM ET. The hearing will be webcast on the committee website here.

In addition to the Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, a number of other Cabinet nominees are scheduled to appear before the relevant Senate committees for their confirmation hearings on January 11. Retired general John Kelly, tapped by President-elect Trump to oversee the Department of Homeland Security, is scheduled to testify before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at 2 PM ET. The hearing will be webcast here.

Also on the 11th, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is scheduled to hold its hearing on Transportation Secretary nominee Elaine Chao. Her appearance is currently set for 10:15 AM ET. Additional information about the hearing is available here.

As noted previously, Federal Relations will continue to monitor further developments on this front.

Although the new Trump Administration will not formally come into office until January 20, confirmation hearings for many of the Cabinet nominees will kick off the week of January 9.

For example, Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos will go before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on at 10 AM EST on Wednesday, January 11. The hearing will be webcast and will be available here.

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), who has been tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services for the new Administration, is scheduled to appear before the HELP Committee on January 18. He will also testify before the Senate Finance Committee.

Not all of the confirmation hearings for Cabinet secretary nominations have been scheduled yet. In addition, no nominees have yet been named to head many of the federal agencies of great interest to UW, such as the National Institutes of Health, NOAA, and NASA.

Federal Relations will continue to monitor and update as nomination process moves forward.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has accepted Donald Trump’s offer to be his ambassador to the United Nations. She is the first woman Trump has tapped to his cabinet, and would add diversity as a woman and the daughter of immigrants from India. A rising star in the GOP, she is the first woman to hold the Governor’s office in South Carolina. Haley served three terms in South Carolina’s State House before winning the governorship in 2010 and again in 2014. Haley’s limited foreign policy experience is likely to draw scrutiny during Senate confirmation hearings for the Cabinet-level position.

Yesterday, armed services leaders from the House and the Senate took a significant step forward in wrapping up the 2017 National Defense Authorization. While negotiations are still underway, committee leadership reportedly agreed upon adding around $9 billion to the Pentagon budget to fund wars and fill readiness shortfalls. Since the negotiations are highly sensitive, they are done in secret so Politico and Defense News reports on the ongoing negotiations are not confirmed. 

The House and Senate versions of the NDAA were $18 billion apart after the House added that amount to the $610 billion Pentagon request. Thus, $9 billion is a compromise between the two chambers. It is worth noting that, according to Politico, the measure will halt the drawdown of troops in FY 2017.

More info from Defense News here. 

In the 115^th Congress, there will be twenty openings for committee and subcommittee chair positions in the House of Representatives due to the GOP’s self-imposed six year term limits on chairmanship. Here are a few of the committees we’re paying attention to.

APPROPRIATIONS: The current chair of Appropriations, Hal Rogers, has reached his six year limit, so Republicans will appoint new leadership to the committee in the 115^th Congress. The favorite to replace Rogers is Rep. Rodney Frelighuysen from New Jersey. Rogers is hoping to swap committees chairs with Frelighuysen, who currently chairs the Defense subcommittee.

Rep. Nita N. Lowey of New York is expected to serve again as Ranking Member of the committee, her third term doing so.

ENERGY & COMMERCE: Two Members are seeking to replace term-limited Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan – Reps. John Shimkus of Illinois and Greg Walden of Oregon. While Shimkus has the inside track and seniority, Walden is keeping the race competitive.

Shimkus brings experience from his work as the Environment and the Economy Subcommittee chairman, which led to comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s toxic chemical review laws. Walden, on the other hand, would be more likely to focus the committee’s work on communications and technology. He is a former radio station owner and is critical of the Federal Communications Commission on a number of issues, including net neutrality.

There are three major issues related to health that the committee will address in the 115^th Congress: legislation to renew user fee agreement between private industry and the Food and Drug Administration, a reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the future of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE: The top priority for this committee during the 115^th Congress will be reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. Retiring Chairman John Kline is expected to be succeeded by Rep. Virginia Fox of North Carolina. She says her top priority for the HEA is to protect student data. Other issues at hand for the committee include student debt, school meal nutrition, extended overtime pay, and underfunded pensions.