Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel testified before Senate committees on Capitol Hill on Thursday as urgency builds to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations.
Kennedy, Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), faced his second day of questioning on the Hill before the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions on Thursday. Kennedy clashed with Democratic senators over abortion and vaccines on Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on his confirmation.
Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI director, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, while Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Also on Thursday, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, Daniel Driscoll, the relatively unknown soldier and former advisor to Vice President JD Vance, fielded questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Once nominees have testified before relevant Senate committees, that panel votes on whether to recommend the nominee before the full Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can then file a motion to end Senate floor debate on the nominee, triggering a cloture vote to halt deliberations. Once debate closes, senators make final confirmation votes.
For confirmation, a nominee needs a majority in the Senate, or 51 votes. Vance can settle a tie vote, as was the case with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation.
Elise Stefanik, nominee for United Nations ambassador, testified before the Foreign Relations Committee last week, and the committee voted to advance her nomination to the Senate floor on Thursday.
Stefanik joins Trump’s nominees for director of Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought; secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner; and attorney general, Pam Bondi, among those who have been voted out of committee and await a vote on the Senate floor.
Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins, nominee for Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, and nominee for Small Business administrator Kelly Loeffler have testified but await scheduling for Senate committee votes. Kennedy also awaits a vote by the Finance Committee as he testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday.
Thune moved to end Senate deliberations for Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright and Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. Both nominees await a procedural vote on the Senate floor ahead of the confirmation vote.
Trump’s nominee for Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, passed the cloture vote on Wednesday and awaits his confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Senate has confirmed seven of Trump’s Cabinet nominations, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.