Senate tees up more confirmations while House GOP holds retreat to talk Trump agenda

The Senate is set to churn through more of President Trump’s cabinet nominees this week, with a handful of his controversial picks set to field questions during their confirmation hearings.

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to be FBI director, will all appear before relevant committees this week for hearings that could turn tense as senators ask about their past comments, various stances and visions for the next four years.

On the House side, Republicans are gathering in Florida for their annual retreat, where the group will discuss their plans for advancing the Trump agenda. The president is expected to make an appearance on Monday.

Additionally this week, the Senate is set to consider a bill to sanction individuals associated with the International Criminal Court, after the body issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials last year.

Senate to consider more Trump cabinet nominees

The Senate is on track to confirm more of Trump’s cabinet nominees this week, as GOP leaders look to get the president’s administration in place at a quick pace.

On Monday, the upper chamber is set to confirm Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, after the nominee cleared a key procedural hurdle in a bipartisan 67-23 vote on Saturday. Also on Monday, senators will hold a procedural vote on Sean Duffy’s nomination to be secretary of Transportation.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Pam Bondi’s nomination to be attorney general, and on Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a vote on advancing Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik is expected to skate through the confirmation process with bipartisan support.

Aside from votes in committees and on the floor, a slew of key cabinet nominees — including some controversial ones — are set to hit for confirmation hearings this week as Trump seeks to solidify his ranks.

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, a confirmation hearing that is expected to draw significant attention as the former congresswoman faces scrutiny from lawmakers. Specifically, some individuals have raised concerns about her 2017 visit with former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and comments she has made about the Russia-Ukraine war.

Additionally, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to be HHS secretary, will field questions from lawmakers this week, appearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday. The Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation at a later date.

Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism is likely to come up during those hearings.

Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to be FBI director, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, marking a hearing for another controversial cabinet nominee. Patel has come under fire from lawmakers for comments he has made about the “deep state" and weaponized government and for his vow to clear out the FBI headquarters on his first day on the job.

Aside from those three nominees, Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick to be secretary of Commerce, will appear before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday; former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Trump’s pick to be administrator of the Small Business Administration, will field questions from the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Wednesday; and Daniel Driscoll, Trump’s pick to be secretary of the Army, will have his hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

House GOP heads to Florida for retreat

House Republicans are headed to Florida for their annual retreat this week, as the group plots its plan to advance Trump’s sprawling agenda.

The House GOP conference is scheduled to gather at Trump National Doral, which will feature appearances from Trump and Vice President Vance. Trump will join the group for dinner on Monday night.

The meeting comes as House Republicans are staring down an ambitious timeline to achieve Trump’s agenda, which includes extending the 2017 tax cuts, enacting border reform and passing energy policy. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he wants to enact those wish list items in one sprawling package passed through the budget reconciliation process, which will allow the GOP to work around Democratic opposition in the Senate.

Johnson has said he wants to pass a budget resolution, which unlocks the reconciliation process, the week of Feb. 27, a timeline that will likely prove difficult as the Speaker works through a number of disagreements within his conference.

Aside from advancing Trump’s agenda, Congress is facing a March 14 deadline to fund the government and will have to deal with the debt limit this summer, two thorny issues that are likely to be heavy lifts in the narrow House GOP majority.

Republicans are expected to discuss all those topics and more at this week’s retreat.

“We’re looking forward to a great family meeting and a very productive work session to make a lot of the really important final decisions we have,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday.

Senate to vote on ICC sanctions bill

The Senate will vote on legislation to sanction the ICC officials this week, after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for their involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.

On Tuesday at 2:15 p.m., the chamber will hold a procedural vote on the measure.

The House cleared the bill in a bipartisan 243-140 vote earlier this month, with 198 Republicans and 45 Democrats backing the legislation. If it passes the Senate, it will head to Trump’s desk.

The bill — titled the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act — would issue sanctions on any ICC officials or entities that support the court for efforts “to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute” U.S. citizens or citizens of an allied country that is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which is the treaty setting up the court and the countries that it has jurisdiction over. If enacted, it would take effect 60 days after being signed into law.

This week’s vote is already on track to be bipartisan. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a staunch Israel ally, wrote on X that he plans to support the legislation.

“The ICC’s treatment towards Israel and equivocating to Hamas was unacceptable. We should absolutely sanction the ICC. I plan to vote for the bill and respectfully urge my colleagues to join me,” Fetterman wrote.

The ICC published warrants for Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister, and Mohammed Deif, the Hamas commander responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Tel Aviv says it killed Deif, but Hamas has not confirmed his death. Prosecutors with the ICC have accused both Hamas and Israel of committing war crimes.

Topics

Capitol agenda: Johnson's GOP retreat plans, ICC bill, controversial Trump nominees ahead

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