Senate Confirmation Hearings: Trump’s National Security Cabinet Picks May Be Approved By Senators On Friday, Reports Say

The U.S. Senate will convene soon after President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office at his inauguration ceremony Friday to confirm some of his cabinet picks. While at least three of these are unlikely to face much opposition, a number of other Trump choices may need more discussions.

According to reports, the president-elect’s national security team, consisting of retired Marine generals James Mattis and John Kelly as defense secretary and head of homeland security respectively, and Mike Pompeo as the CIA director, is likely to be confirmed Friday.

Congressional Republicans sought to get more confirmations on the day Trump takes over as president but Democrats have shown more resistance to his other cabinet picks and are demanding comprehensive hearings for a number of candidates.

“The president-elect’s Cabinet is a swamp Cabinet,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer was reported as saying. “Senate Democrats and the American people won’t stand for it.”

Some of the picks that have faced tough questioning are Trump’s pick for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson; Tom Price for Health and Human Services, and his treasury pick Steve Mnuchin, who was being questioned Thursday. Mick Mulvaney, picked to lead the Office of Management and Budget, is also expected to be grilled later in the month.

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer on Thursday said transportation secretary Elaine Chao, Ben Carson as Housing secretary, and Nikki Haley as the ambassador to the United Nations should be quickly confirmed as they have not faced much resistance.

“It’s safe to say the Democrats are in a bad mood. You can see that in the way the confirmations process is going on in the Senate. We are getting off to kind of a rough start,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told USA Today. “I remember, frankly, being appalled at some of Barack Obama's appointments but my attitude was he won the election and that is what comes with winning the election.”

However, Democrats, who have been questioning Trump’s picks over their personal finances and work history, have only 48 seats in the Senate, making it tough for them to block the president-elect’s decision.