Two more of President Trump’s nominees will face questions from senators Tuesday, while a third, Treasury nominee Scott Bessent, will get a committee vote.
Former Rep. Doug Collins, an Air Force Reserve chaplain, will testify before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee as he seeks confirmation to lead the Veterans Affairs Department. And Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The Senate Finance Committee, meanwhile, will convene at 10:15 a.m. and vote on whether to advance Bessent’s nomination to be secretary of the Treasury.
If confirmed, Stefanik will be the first U.N. Ambassador in over 20 years to come directly from Congress.
In her opening statement, Stefanik said she will “work to ensure that our mission to the United Nations serves the interests of the American people and represents President Trump’s America First peace through strength foreign policy.”
“As the world faces crisis after crisis, with hostages including Americans still held in Hamas’ captivity, to national security challenges ranging from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, it has never been more critical for the United States to lead with strength and moral clarity,” Stefanik said, recognizing the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel was “the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
As a member of Congress herself, Stefanik told lawmakers that she understands”deeply that we must be good stewards of U.S. taxpayer dollars.”
“The U.S. is the largest contributor to the UN by far. Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, antisemitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption, or terrorism,” Stefanik said. “We must invest in programs that strengthen our national security and deliver results. To increase the efficacy of UN programs, we must drive reform.”
“We are at a truly critical point in history. The world must be reminded of the key mission of the United Nations and America’s role as its formative leader. Following the devastation, carnage, and Holocaust of World War II, the world was desperate for peace, stability, human rights and dignity, and world order,” she went on, noting how Article 1, Chapter I of the UN Charter, says the purpose of the United Nations is “to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations based on a shared respect for the principle of equal rights, solve international problems, and harmonize the actions of nations in the attainment of common ends.”
“The UN has not lived up to this founding mission, and we must demand better,” Stefanik said. “It is imperative to ensure strong American leadership at the United Nations. I share President Trump’s vision of a UN reformed by strong America First peace through strength leadership and a return to its founding mission of promoting peace and security around the world.”
Meanwhile, Collins will be the first potential cabinet official to receive a hearing after Trump’s whirlwind of a first day in office. After announcing that a “Golden Age of America” had begun in his inaugural address, the president swiftly took more than 200 executive actions on Monday to see his policy vision come to life. It remains for the Senate to confirm the key officials who will carry out Trump’s orders.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio became the first of Trump’s cabinet picks to receive congressional approval late Monday with a unanimous vote by the Senate. His confirmation was not surprising, as many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle praised his strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees.
HUNDREDS OF VETERANS TO DESCEND ON DC TO MARCH IN SUPPORT OF PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION
Collins is likewise not expected to face a difficult confirmation fight. A former congressman from Georgia and Navy veteran, as VA secretary he would be tasked with overseeing a beleaguered system of healthcare and benefits for the nation’s veterans. Long wait times to see providers, lack of access to community care, inadequate mental health support and budget shortfalls are just a few of many problems that have plagued secretaries past in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
A report published by the VA last month showed that there were more than 6,400 suicides among veterans in 2022, fewer than 12 of 14 previous years but slightly more than in 2021. Ending veteran suicide was a top priority for the Biden administration. In November, the VA announced that veteran homelessness had fallen to the lowest number on record under President Biden, although more than 32,000 former service members remained on the streets between Jan. 2023 and Jan. 2024.
Under Trump’s direction, the next VA secretary will likely also be tasked with rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the department, as well as ending Biden-era policies that provide abortions and transgender medical procedures.
Collins was due to receive a confirmation hearing last week, but an incomplete background check delayed the proceeding.
While the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee convenes to question Collins at 10 a.m., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet elsewhere in the Dirksen Senate Office Building to consider Stefanik’s nomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N.
Stefanik, the fourth-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, is likely to face questions about her relative lack of foreign policy experience and adamant support for Israel, as well as her views on the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Stefanik is expected to sail to confirmation in the U.N. role. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has already said he will vote for her – they are both strong Israel supporters. She served on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, but she went viral for her work on the other side of the table last year when she questioned university presidents and their policies surrounding anti-Israel protests during Education Committee hearings.
Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on whether to advance the nomination of Bessent, a Wall Street investor and hedge fund manager, to lead the Treasury Department.
During his confirmation hearings, Bessent said the U.S. must extend the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed into law in his first term.
“This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent told senators. “This is pass-fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class.”
Democrats pressed Bessent on the impact Trump’s tax cuts have had on the federal deficit and whether they disproportionately benefit the rich at the expense of the poor and middle classes. They also asked whether Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign imports would increase inflation, but Bessent insisted they would not.
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The Treasury nominee, who hails from South Carolina, emphasized that Trump’s policies would prioritize Main Street over Wall Street.
“I believe Wall Street has done great the past few years, and that Main Street has suffered. I think it’s Main Street’s time,” Bessent said.
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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