Senators will hold a slew of hearings this week with more than a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks ahead of his inauguration on Monday.
Up first is former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who Trump nominated for defense secretary. Hegseth has been a controversial pick from the start, with past allegations of sexual assault, financial mismanagement and misconduct coming to light since Trump announced his pick in November.
Others who will be questioned at hearings this week include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, nominated for Homeland Security secretary; Sen. Marco Rubio (Fl.), nominated for secretary of state; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, nominated for Interior Secretary; and more. (HuffPost has more details on all the nominees here.)
Read the latest updates on the confirmation hearings below.
While questioning Hegseth on military issues, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) asked him about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. But when Hegseth began talking about South Korea, Japan and Australia, Duckworth was forced to call him out.
"None of those three countries are in ASEAN," she told him. "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."
